Michael Wangbickler is President of Balzac Communications and Marketing, a specialist agency supporting the food and beverage industries. With nearly 30 years of experience in marketing and public relations, Mike is a trusted advisor and strategic consultant to his clients. His agency delivers tailored solutions for clients with values that align with his own.

He guides clients through the process of achieving their vision and transforming their business through sustainable growth, teamwork, transparency and inclusivity.

As a studied disciple of Walt Disney, Mike thinks it’s fun to do the impossible. He believes leadership, imagination, and innovation require a certain level of fearlessness and he encourages his team to step off the worn pathways and break new ground. He leads a team who are driven forward by the stories that inspire people to share in a dream. It is with this philosophy that he’s guided successful marketing and communications campaigns for more than 70 global companies and trade associations from a dozen countries.

Mike earned his Level 4 Diploma in Wine & Spirits from the Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET) in 2006; passed the rigorous Certified Wine Educator (CWE) from the Society of Wine Educators (SWE) in 2008; and became a WSET Certified Educator in 2012. In addition to his duties at Balzac, he also teaches wine classes at Napa Valley College (NVC). In 2021, Mike was appointed the President of the American Wine Society (AWS), the U.S.’s largest consumer wine appreciation and education organization in the United States.