Roberto Bendana McEwan obtained a Masters degree in Business Administration from Richmond College in London, and a bachelor degree in Business Analysis from Texas A&M University, among other studies in finance and international economic policy. Today is the Executive Secretary of the Competitiveness Commission, a public private agency dedicated to foster economic growth and development in Nicaragua, focused in cluster development and the improvement of the business climate in the country

He served as Vice Minister of Agriculture, and Director General of Agricultural Policy within the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Executive Secretary of the Nicaraguan Coffee Board, and Consul General of the Nicaraguan Embassy in London. He was also Director General for Bilateral Cooperation within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He is Past President of the Specialty Coffee Association of Nicaragua (SCAN) and member of the Coffee Exporters Association, has served as the Nicaraguan representative to the International Coffee Organization. He was also general manager of Bankoffe Corporation, as well as Executive Director of Bendana McEwan & Associates, two vertically integrated coffee firms in Nicaragua.

A Note about Cup of Excellence from Roberto Bendaña
 

“Timothy’s World Coffee has participated in every Cup of Excellence auction since the first competition in Brazil in 1999. Customers at our 140 retail stores across Canada now seek out our limited time offering of Cup of Excellence winners each year as an opportunity to experience truly exceptional coffees. At the same time, our coffee buyer develops new relationships with the growers of these exceptional coffees, enhancing our ability to offer coffee quality that gives us a competitive advantage in the marketplace. She is the past president of the SCAA and chair of the International Relations Committee.
 

Stephen Hurst worked as an Executive Director of Coffee Trading at Goldman Sachs for eleven years from 1985-1996. In 1996, Stephen founded Mercanta The Coffee Hunters to supply the developing Specialty Coffee market in Europe. Mercanta purchased coffee in the first Cup of Excellence Auction in Brazil in 1999 and have since established a wide network of specialty roaster customers for Cup of Excellence. Stephen is past Chairman of Alliance of Coffee Excellence and has attended 10 Cup of Excellence juries. In 2003, Mercanta moved to a bespoke custom designed cupping laboratory just outside of London. Mercanta now have specialty roaster customers in twenty countries, having recently opened a North American operation. To further support educational developments in coffee – Mercanta founded a separate company; London School of Coffee, in 2004 to focus on wide ranging training and educational issues. Stephen is a Board Director for the Specialty Coffee Association of Europe and ex National Coordinator for SCAE UK. Stephen has appeared on the BBC and in a Financial Times article representing ethics, sustainability, market access and traceability in the Specialty coffee sector.
 

Bill is Co-founder of The Coffee Tree Roasters with his father, Bill Swoope Sr. CTR started as a roaster/retailer in 1993, with currently four locations in and around Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Coffee Tree roasters ahs recently received very positive publicity as the roaster-retailer of choice in the Pittsburgh area. The Coffee Tree had the immense foresight to become the first United States Lifetime Member of ACE / The Cup of Excellence Program.

A Note about Cup of Excellence from Bill Swoope
 

A Note about COE from Kentaro Maruyama
 

In 1992 founded Montana Coffee Holding Limited which started out as a small business but has grown into a multi million dollar company, a recognized brand and employs over 250 people. Montana Coffee is the Specialty Coffee Industry leader in Russia. Alexandr’s experience also includes helping set up and manage joint ventures between major US and Russian Technology companies as well as multinational consumer products and natural resource companies.

He holds an MS in Electrical Engineering from Leningrad Polytechnic Institute. And is Chairman of the Board of The Organization of Coffee Manufacturers in Russia as well as Ukon LLC a business consulting company providing legal, IT and accounting help for medium and large Russian businesses. He is involved on the Boards of RusBrand-Association of Branded Goods Manufacturers in Russia as well as having served on the Presidential Committee in charge of the development of Russian Safety Standards for Coffee Production and Coffee as a Product. Aleksandr has been a feature in the Wall Street Journal, CBS News and Russian Business Publications as a business success story.

A Note about Cup of Excellence from Aleksandr Malchik
 

David Browning is Regional Director of Latin America operations for TechnoServe. TechnoServe is a nonprofit organisation focused on solving poverty in developing countries. David also serves as head of TechnoServe's global coffee practice, and is a steering committee member of the Sustainable Coffee Partnership, a multi-stakeholder initiative facilitated by the United Nations.

Prior to joining TechnoServe in 2003, David worked for McKinsey and Company, a management consulting firm. Before McKinsey, David held a range of managerial positions in the manufacturing, petroleum, and retail industries. David holds an M.B.A. from Yale University, as well as a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, and a Master’s degree in Advanced Finance from the University of New South Wales in Sydney Australia.
 

Stephen Leighton is the Managing Director of Has Bean Coffee, a micro coffee roaster located in the United Kingdom. Stephen has tremendous respect for the Cup of Excellence program and is a regular buyer. He has also participated as an international jury member several times.

Mr. Leighton's goals in participating on the ACE board is to represent micro roasters across the world with the objective of increasing participation of this growing sector. His desire is to raise consumer awareness of the program in consuming countries.

His skills lie in communication, information sharing and an understanding of the challenges of the small micro roaster.
 

Managing Director of Solberg & Hansen AS (SH) in Oslo - Norway. Board member of Nordic Barista Cup and cupper at several COE competitions. SH was founded in 1879 and has good traditions for buying only the highest quality coffees available. Solberg & Hansen AS was the first lifetime member of ACE and is the only company to have purchased coffee at every Cup of Excellence auction since the beginning.

“SH have in addition to participating on the international jury with its staff also had representatives on the Advisory panel of ACE. I am now hoping to be able to contribute on the ACE board.”
 

In Anacafé, he has inspired and developed marketing projects of great impact: Guatemala's eight coffee regions; Rainbow Mountain, Guatemalan Coffees canned coffee product for the Japanese market place and presently he has been developing the Atlas of Guatemalan Coffees, where all farms that produced winning auction coffee lots have been located with GPS technology.

From 1987 to 1993 William was a member of Anacafé's Board of Directors, serving as president in 1993. He was reelected in 2000, a position he has been elected to since that date.

His coffee heritage began four generations ago when his great-grandfather emigrated from Germany and established himself in Cobán, Alta Verapaz, Guatemala.

William has edited two books: "The History of Coffee in Guatemala" and "Four Centuries of Cartographic Expressions of the Isthmus of Central America, 1500-1900".
 

Arvid Nordquist H.A.B. founded in 1884 is the leading gourmet roaster in Sweden with ten percent of the market. Philippe Barreca has been acting as a consultant for restaurant school and different education centers. He has also been a jury member for events organized by the Swedish specialty coffee association.

Pioneer Member of the Swedish Chapter of SCAE. WSET - International Higher Certificate in Wines and Spirits in 2008.