President

Mike Wangbickler is President of Balzac, a leading marketing communications company for the worlds of beverage, food, and travel. Before following his heart to wine country, Mike followed his head to Silicon Valley where he spent 8 fast-paced years in technology communications, where he caught the bug for following the latest trends in marketing tech. Armed with a “live to eat” motto and an evident passion for wine, Mike entered Balzac’s life in 2004 and became the agency’s President in 2016.

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 not to play by the rules. 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 wineries and regions from a dozen countries. Among his many achievements, Mike holds a WSET Level 4 Diploma in Wine & Spirits and WSET Level 3 Award in Sake. In addition, he is a Certified Wine Educator (CWE) and WSET Certified Educator.

But he’d trade it all to be a Jedi.