Jon Umstead is a lifelong Ohioan who has spent more than thirty years leading teams and organizations at companies ranging from startups to Fortune 500s, across multiple industries, in roles that have included business owner, Chief Marketing Officer, Chief Operating Officer, adjunct professor, transformation leader, and business consultant. He has led teams of more than 700 people, led or been part of teams winning over a billion dollars in business, and holds an Executive MBA from The Ohio State University.

His years of hard-won business experience, a lifelong thirst for learning, and a genuine love for the craft, culture, and history of distilling are what’s behind the premise of Against the Grain: Business Lessons from the Still. His first book, Business is ART, introduced the ART framework — Articulate, Revise, Track — for building simple but effective strategic and business plans that actually get executed.

Jon and his wife, Carol, are also owners-operators of the Mad River Tap Company in Urbana, Ohio.