Not all heroes wear capes.
SOME DRINK WHISKEY.
Claire Bertin-Lang began tending bar at one of NYC’s classic dives when she was 19, and she’s been in the business ever since. With a degree from Georgetown University in hand, she spent four years in sales and marketing strategy at The Absolut Spirits Co. (later acquired by Pernod Ricard) before starting her own consulting company, CBL Liquid Consulting. With CBLLC, Claire held roles with StarChefs, Eat Drink SF, and Bar Convent Brooklyn, and worked with various spirits clients to produce events around the country.
In 2019, Claire joined forces with friend and fellow veteran of the hospitality and event production industry, Layla McGinnis. With their combined 25+ years of experience, they poured their passion for food, beverage, and festival and event planning into Hero Events Group. With a hand in electrifying events like BottleRock Napa Valley, Sonoma Harvest Music Festival, and Austin Food & Wine, Hero was cemented as the premier event group in the food & spirits industry.
For the next four years, Claire and Layla continued to ideate, manage, execute, and consult on trade and consumer-facing events of all scales, all the while adding to their impressive list of clientele and trusted industry connections. In 2022, Layla moved on from Hero to work full time for C3 Productions. Since then, Claire has continued to expand on the legacy of what she and Layla built, putting together kickass product launches and events nationally.
After a stormy few years for the events and hospitality industry, Hero now proudly enters its 5th year in the business, having proven capable of evolution and growth in the face of unknowns and obstacles. Hero has been able to draw on Claire and Layla’s expertise and veteran-status in the industry to not just weather the storm, but to stay cool, calm, and collected under pressure, finding innovative ways to promote, launch, and amplify clients and brands, pulling off events without a hitch, and emerging as the food and beverage industry’s go-to event planning and management group.