Amanda Kent Benjamin has built her career at the intersection of wine and strategy. In February 2025 she became President of Kent Family Estates, where she oversees the operations and growth of her family’s portfolio of Livermore Valley businesses – including three wineries (Darcie Kent Estate Winery, Concannon Vineyard, and Almost Famous Wine Company) and a boutique dispensary, The Highlands.

Before taking the helm of Kent Family Estates, Amanda spent 12 years at Bain & Company, advising Fortune 500 management teams across the Consumer Products, Technology, and Customer Strategy practices. She led growth strategies and marketing initiatives for global brands, including an international Wine & Spirits player, and helped chart the 10-year strategy for UC Davis’s Department of Viticulture & Enology. Earlier in her Bain career she completed a six-month externship with the California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance, designing and launching its sustainable product certification program.

Amanda serves on the Executive Leadership Board of the UC Davis School of Viticulture and Enology, sits on the Wine Institute Next Generation Leadership Committee, and is a board member of the historic Yoshi’s Japanese Restaurant and Jazz Club in Oakland.

Raised among vineyards in the historic Livermore Valley, Amanda is a sixth-generation winegrower who developed an early love for the craft—pruning and managing grapevines, applying capsules on the bottling line, and discussing aromas with the winemaking team.

She holds a B.A. in Economics and History (summa cum laude) from Vanderbilt University and an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business, where she served as president of the GSB Wine Circle, worked as a Teaching Assistant for the Global Wine Business course, and launched a wine-education app through a startup incubator.

Amanda lives in Oakland, California, with her husband Alex, their daughter Hazel, and their Shiba Inu, Sasha.