MEET THE TEAM

Steve Kriaris is an entrepreneur, consultant, philanthropist, and the founder and president of KOLONAKI Group of Companies. Born and raised in Toronto to immigrant parents, he grew up with a strong connection to Greece and his European heritage.

Steve's entrepreneurial spirit was evident from a young age. KOLONAKI Group was born after a trip to his parent's homeland in his early twenties when he realized the absence of quality products from the Mediterranean in Canada. He was the first to bring natural Greek mineral water to Canada in 2000. During subsequent business trips back to Europe, it was apparent to him that Canadians were missing out on quality and delectable Mediterranean wines. He quickly expanded his company to include fine wines, beers and spirits.

Steve has spent most of the last two decades growing his company, which now consists of three divisions; Kolonaki Fine Wines, Kolonaki Fine Foods, and Kolonaki Fine Lifestyle. In addition to importing fine products, Steve enjoys creating his own. Ten years ago, he started his own wine label, Thalia, using grapes from Crete. His most recent creation is Da Capo espresso and Three Little Figs spread.

In 2012 he was recognized by The Hellenic Canadian Board of Trade with the Business Achievement Award. Steve is an example of creating a successful business by incorporating one's passions. His company is his lifestyle by masterfully combining his favorite things. Travelling to locate craft wines, beers, spirits, fine foods from the Mediterranean and beyond, and being in touch with Mother Nature through the flavors that reflect the land, sea, and the sun and telling stories of unique producers of the world.

Anastasiia Mosiichuk 
Operations Manager Kolonaki Group of Companies and Orama Brands

Anastasiia is a graduate of the National University Of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, Kyiv. She has worked at Kolonaki Group of Companies for over three years, excelling in several roles. Anastasia has a passion for constant process improvement and streamlining supply chain processes.

Anastasiia has attended trade shows, evaluated potential suppliers, and built productive relationships with existing suppliers, all while creating production forecasts to optimize inventory flow and negotiating cost-effective supplier purchases. Additionally, she has developed PCPs and SOPs to comply with CFIA and leveraged her knowledge of economics to develop pricing strategies.

Anastasiia has also established and maintained client relationships, supported sales team members to drive growth, and created presentation materials suitable for sales, customer relations, and management purposes.

anastasiia@kolonakigroup.com

Voula Monoholias
Marketing & Communications, Global

Voula graduated with Honours from Humber College in Business Marketing. She has 14+ years of experience working in all facets of marketing. Much of her career has been spent in the hospitality and aviation industries, gaining a solid customer-centric approach. She is passionate about building relationships between brands and customers using technology and communications. Her specialties include copywriting, digital and social media strategy, photography and creative content creation. 

Voula is fluent in English, Greek and French. She is working towards her DALF certificate in French in her spare time. 

When she isn't passionately creating content for her favourite wines, spirits, and fine food brands, she daydreams about getting Kolonaki Group to sponsor her bucket list trip to Champagne, France. 

voula@kolonakigroup.com

Joy D. MacDonald
National Sales Manager, Kolonaki Fine Wines & Spirits
Joy's background in Hospitality management is where she acquired a love of wine. She began her career in wine sales with E & J Galllo and got her Sommelier certification with C.A.P.S in 2003. Joy hails from Canada's east coast. In 2004 she relocated to Toronto for an opportunity to help grow a new wine agency in Ontario.
Joy keeps her east coast connections strong while building solid relationships with the LCBO in Ontario. She loves to travel, visit wineries, and introduce new wines to new people in our markets.

Joy@KolonakiGroup.com 

Rita Bordin
Operations Specialist, Kolonaki Fine Wines & Spirits
Rita has been in the wine & spirits biz for 20+ years, with roles in administration, sales, marketing and wine portfolio management. Her thirst for learning, experiencing and taste brings much enthusiasm and passion to the team while still holding a few tricks up her sleeve. When she's not immersed in the wine-world, her interest is art of all forms. "Wine, window into a man" – Alcaeus of Mytilene. 

Rita@KolonakiGroup.com 

ONTARIO

Claude Lefebvre
LCBO Store Representative, Ontario
Claude has been in the beverage and alcohol industry since 1998 and has always worked for independent breweries, including owning a beer-importing company for nine years brewing craft beers and cider. He loves to travel with his family, mountain biking and analytics!

Kevin Cook
Sales Representative, Ottawa
Kevin has been in the beverage industry for over 20 years, delivering solid results for the wine and spirits producers he represents. He is genuinely passionate about the variety of beverage alcohol products, packaging and innovation. As Kevin wonderfully states, 'Who wouldn't like to be a part of sharing drinks, connectivity with others and creating memories? I can't think of any other product that is this much fun to sell!'

Nalini Davidson
Territory Manager, Greater Toronto Area
Nalini has been in the alcohol industry for over 25 years. She has extensive industry expertise and prides herself on her comprehensive knowledge of products from around the world. When she is not sipping on a glass of chardonnay, she can be found exploring nature by kayak or trail with her family. 

QUEBEC

Philippe Gougeon
Regional Sales, Quebec
Specialized in the Canadian and Quebec wine and spirits industry, Philippe started his career at Kraft Canada. During his 12-year stint with the company, he was assigned to the business’s largest accounts as the sales director for Quebec, in charge of Loblaws and ConAgra foods. 

Throughout his career, Philippe has developed a great network of business and personal contacts. Notably, he’s been able to develop a good working relationship with both the SAQ and the LCBO and is also familiar with the bidding system of both enterprises. In addition, Philippe has a significant degree of influence within the industry with an excellent reputation, with private agencies and senior executives in the public sector.
gougeon.p@videotron.ca

Jean-François Daoust
Regional Sales, Quebec
A go-getter that leads and unifies, Jean-François developed his skills while playing hockey from a very young age, all the way to his major junior league career. 

Jean-François started his adventure in the world of wine and spirits in 2005 as an employee of the SAQ. His passion took him to the world of agencies in 2010 as a sales representative and quickly moved up to supervisor. In 2015, he decided to broaden his horizons by focusing on spirits and taking on a new challenge as part of the Corby-Pernod Ricard team. After developing an extensive network in the industry, armed with determination, Jean-François decided to launch his agency, Vintage & Associés. Since then, through his perseverance and professionalism, he’s been able to introduce more than 30 products into the state monopoly of the wine and spirits industry and continues to be on the lookout for new opportunities.
jeff@vintageassocies.com

Julie Lafoux
Marketing & Communications, Quebec
Passionate about communication and design and originally from the west of France, Julie graduated from the École supérieure des beaux-arts de Nantes. In 2006 she arrived in Quebec to follow a university exchange program at UQAM. While working in restoration in Montreal, Julie became interested in wine and discovered the world of wine agencies. She returned to school in 2012 to obtain her sommelier designation from the École hôtelière de Laval. She began her career at Univins et Spiritueux then Fréchette, two top 10 agencies, before launching her own Vintage & Associés in 2015. Julie is creative and organized and an entrepreneur at heart. 
julie@vintageassocies.com

BRITISH COLUMBIA

Kirk Karataras
Director of Operations, Kolanaki Group of Companies Western Canada
Kirk Karataras has been in the Food & Beverage industry for 20+ years, giving him the experience to see the demand for new products in new markets. After realizing that western Canada had a need for new Greek products, it became his passion to make it a reality. When he had the opportunity to become Director of Operations for Kolonaki Group of Companies in western Canada in 2019, his love became a reality. Having worked with many experienced chefs over the last 20+ years, he has gained an appreciation for quality food and the values that go into providing quality food products for the food service industry. kirk@kolonakigroup.com

Jenny Siormanolakis
Accounts Manager

Jenny is a social maven and connector in the community who was born and raised in Vancouver. Long tenured in the food industry, she has much experience as a restaurant business owner and food service seasoning manufacturer. She offers highly creative solutions and has a natural ability for branding and marketing. Counted on to use her ability to bring people to work together at the same table for a typical result is something she takes pride in. Jenny@kolonakigroup.com