This is an online event so everyone is welcome. It will take place on Zoom at 5pm SAST / 8am PST on 25th June 2020

In 1988 South African-born Ilana met and fell in love with Mr. Martin Crowley, and soon thereafter the world’s number one selling ultra premium tequila was born. This is her story of their love child, Patrón. An unsung heroine in building the brand that changed the face of the liquor industry, was involved every step of the way, from the ingenious and unprecedented marketing strategies to each complex detail of its finance and operations. Together they are credited with creating the ultra-premium category and triggering the “premiumization” of brands - a major business growth vehicle adopted by all top liquor brands to sell superior quality exclusive beverages at a high cost.

Besides her involvement in the building of the Patrón brand in its earlier days, she is also the founder and president of IE Financial Services, now in its 35th year, which provides a range of financial and retirement services exclusively to school employees and maintains over 2,000 long-standing clients.

Ilana is the author of The Patron Way which tells "the untold inside story of the world's most successful tequila...". She combines the dramatic story of the company’s rise to success in an astonishingly competitive and sometimes cutthroat industry with practical business lessons about R&D and brand building that business leaders can put to productive use in any industry. A tale of love, sacrifice, celebrity, dizzying success, and ultimate betrayal, The Patrón Way reveals for the first time all the details behind the intimate relationship and marketing genius of the "power couple" that transformed the spirits industry.

A Bit About Patrón

Patrón is a brand of tequila products by the Patrón Spirits Company with 40% Alcohol in each bottle. Patrón Tequilas, like all tequilas, are produced in Mexico from the "maguey" (heart or core) of the blue agave plant. The original Patrón Tequila was produced by Casa 7 Leguas, one of the oldest Mexican distilleries. St. Maarten Spirits (owners John Paul DeJoria and Martin Crowley) purchased the brand rights in 1989 and in 2002 production moved to a new distillery. In January 2018, Patrón was sold to Bacardi, the world's largest privately held spirits company, for $5.1 billion. - Wikipedia