Shortly after graduating from Columbia University with a BA in Spanish Literature, Jamil set out on a journey to live and work in Paris which first sparked his interest in the world of wine. Upon returning to New York City, he landed a job at a leading fine wine retail store in Manhattan, and from there followed a now 24+ year career in the wine business spanning retail, distribution sales, and most recently supplier sales.

After a total of about 5 years in the distribution side of the business, Jamil was recruited by Jackson Family Wines as a District Manager of Upstate, NY. Through the course of a 17-year tenure with Jackson Family Wines, Jamil has held positions of District Manager, Region Manager, Imports Division Manager, Crown Distribution Team VP, Central & Northeast VP of Estates Division, and most recently Northeast VP of the Classics Division. He has managed markets and distributors all throughout the East Coast and into the Mid West. His main area of expertise are sales skills, talent development, distributor management, business negotiation and analytics. He’s traveled to many wine regions of the world, including France, Italy, Spain, Chile, Argentina, Santa Barbara, Oregon, and many trips to Sonoma & Napa.

Most recently, Jamil has joined a DE&I focus group within Jackson Family Wines called the IDEA Alliance. This has allowed him the opportunity to bring some change to the company, voice some concerns and challenges regarding the lack of diversity in the industry, and ultimately initiate a partnership with the Urban Grape Foundation with their Wine Studies Award for Students of Color program.

Outside of work, Jamil enjoys spending time with his family and friends, cooking, and traveling the world. His other passions include coaching his son’s club soccer team and he also works as a professional boxing referee in his spare time.