When Marquis Who’s Who selects an honoree, the bar is high: position, accomplishments, visibility, and prominence in a field all factor into the decision. So when Peter James Iglesias was recently named to the publication, it wasn’t simply a personal milestone — it was recognition of more than 25 years of category-defining work across wine, spirits, and now sake.
Today, Iglesias serves as the Chief Operating Officer of Kintsugi Sake USA, but his career reads like a roadmap of how innovation, brand-building, and disciplined
Building Kintsugi Sake USA Into a Category Disruptor
Since 2024, Iglesias has been the driving operational force behind Kintsugi Sake USA, where he also holds an equity stake. Spotting a clear shift in consumer interest toward refined, lower-calorie alternatives, he and his partner positioned sake as a sophisticated entrant in the modern beverage landscape.
Under his leadership, the company has launched:
Oishii Spritz — a ready-to-drink option with fewer than 100 calories per can, aligned with the better-for-you movement and resonating especially well with female consumersleadership reshape an entire industry.
Kintsugi — a premium sake label
Oishii — a mid-tier offering designed for broader accessibility
In just two years, Iglesias’s team brought four brands to market and locked in a major distribution agreement with Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits, securing national placement in retailers like Whole Foods Market, Total Wine & More, and Safeway.
A Track Record of Transformative Leadership
Kintsugi is the latest chapter in a career marked by reinvention and growth.
What’s Next
Looking ahead, Iglesias plans to leverage his deep cordial-sector expertise to launch what is anticipated to be the first sake-based cordial line — a fitting next move for an executive who has built a career on spotting category gaps before the rest of the market catches on.
His broader mission is just as ambitious: empowering others through mentorship, his podcast, and his forthcoming book, while continuing to build businesses that reflect the values of the modern consumer.