Scheduled to be there:
Erik Espinosa - Owner of Espinosa Cigars
He's been a sales representative, a retailer and a brand owner. Now, Erik Espinosa owns his own factory and is distributing cigars for other people. In short, he's done it all.
Espinosa's career began in 1997 as an independent representative in Florida. In 2004, Espinosa and Eddie Ortega launched EO Brands which became known for its 601 and Murcielago brands. In 2012, the two split up and Espinosa started his own Espinosa Premium Cigars and the La Zona Cigar Factory in Estelí, Nicaragua. Since then, Espinosa's portfolio of brands has grown along with the number of clients he produces cigars for at the factory as well as brands he distributes in the U.S.
NishPatel - Rocky Patel Cigars
Nish Patel was born in 1964 in Nairobi, Kenya and relocated with his family to Green Bay, Wisconsin when he was 11 years old. After graduating from the University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh, Nish earned his MBA from UCLA. After business school, Nish spent several years as a commodities broker and then as the National Sales Manager for a company that sold HVAC equipment.
Nish was a traditional premium cigar enthusiast until his brother, Rocky, started Indian Tabac Cigar Co. in 1995. At the same time his personal business career was progressing, Nish also began to take a bigger and bigger interest in his brother's burgeoning cigar company, and the premium cigar industry as a whole.
In 2004, after years of persistent encouragement from his brother Rocky, Nish decided to join the Rocky Patel Premium Cigar Company. Nish made an immediate impact, and was integral in the development and launch of the first cigars that carried the Rocky Patel brand name - Vintage 90' and Vintage 92'. As the company grew, and as the brand portfolio continued to expand, Nish was instrumental in the 2009 launch of the Patel Bro's brand.
Nish Patel continues to champion the overall growth and expansion of the Patel Bro's brand, as well as serving as an active member of the Executive Management Team for the Rocky Patel Premium Cigar Company and as an ambassador for the Rocky Patel brand all over the United States.
