A GIANT FAMILY

Our leadership includes a team of highly experienced
professionals in the spirits industry. They are passionate about
what they love to do here at Giant Texas Distillers

Carlos
De Aldecoa

President

Carlos graduated from The University of Houston in 1997 with a BS in Industrial Engineering. He started working for Coffee Process in his last year of college. In 1998 he founded Cadeco with his father. Now, he oversees all things at Gulf Coast Distillers.

He believes that a quality product has to start with quality ingredients. Carlos ensures our grains are of the highest quality in order to create our world-class products.

In his spare time, Carlos loves to be outdoors either sailing, working on old cars, or at the ranch.

María Patricia
Echeverry

VP of Operations

María holds an MS in Industrial Engineering from the University of Houston and a BSIE from the Universidad Javeriana (Bogotá, Colombia).
She joined our team in 2004 and now oversees all our operations. As a Six Sigma Black Belt, she is focused on operations and continuous improvement initiatives. She has been involved in Giant Texas Distillers from its inception, and she manages the regulatory side of the company.

María is an avid reader and she enjoys visiting new countries and different cultures.

Giancarlo
Passarelli

Chief Financial Officer

Giancarlo graduated in Business Administration and MF from the Universidad Rafael Landivar (Guatemala City, Guatemala), currently working on getting his CPA license.  He brings 25 years of experience in manufacturing from different Industries focusing on Finance, Accounting, and the controlling side of the organization, looking always at how to support the business by avoiding any unnecessary risks and the best profitability possible.

When Giancarlo is not working, he is spending quality time with his family, playing sports, or spending time outdoors.

Julian Giraldo

Head Distiller

With a Bachelor of Computer Science and Systems Engineering and a 6 Sigma Green Belt, Julian brings 13 years of food manufacturing, production, and development experience to the distillery.

He joined the organization in 2007 and has been part of several development projects including the startup of the distillery and also overseeing the coffee side operation.

He was mentored by David Pickerell (Maker’s Mark® and Whistle Pig® former Master Distiller) and Troy Smith (Yellow Rose® former Master Distiller), and during this learning experience he quickly dived in and picked up the insights of the fermentation and distillation universe due to his passion and enthusiasm for wine and spirits. Julian makes sure each step is done in the most efficient way following the highest quality standards.

When Julian is not at the distillery, he can be found enjoying outdoor activities like camping, mountain biking, stunt kite flying, or traveling around the world visiting wineries and other distilleries with his family.

 

Daniel Becka Jr.

Distillery Daily Operations Manager

Daniel joined the team in 2018, he has 25+ years in the food and beverage industry. He oversees the daily operations of the distillery, focusing on continuous improvement and product quality and safety.

Daniel is hands-on and works with the distillery operators to improve the team’s knowledge daily.

Daniel enjoys spending time with his family in the outdoors and on most weekends, they are either on a lake fishing or spending time in the woods.