Max Shapira
Executive chairman and former president of Heaven Hill, America's largest independent family-owned distiller
🍷 Food, Beverage & Spirits English
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1943 |
|---|---|
| Nationality | American |
| Family | Son of co-founder Ed Shapira; father of Kate Shapira Latts |
| Education | Washington and Lee University; MBA, Harvard |
| Career | |
| Occupation | Spirits executive |
| Company | Heaven Hill Distillery (Bardstown / Louisville, KY) |
| Joined | 1970/1971 |
| Title | Executive chairman (president 1986–2022) |
| Known for | Growing Heaven Hill into the largest family-owned U.S. distiller |
Max L. Shapira (born 1943) is an American spirits executive who led Heaven Hill Distillery, the largest independent, family-owned and operated distilled-spirits producer in the United States, for decades as president and now serves as executive chairman. The son of co-founder Ed Shapira, he is the second generation of the Shapira family, which has run Heaven Hill since 1935.
Under his stewardship Heaven Hill became one of the world's largest holders of Kentucky bourbon, with brands including Evan Williams, Elijah Craig and Larceny.
Family and entry into the business
Heaven Hill was founded in 1935 in Bardstown, Kentucky, when Ed Shapira and his brothers invested in a new distillery after the repeal of Prohibition, eventually buying out their partners. Max Shapira, Ed's only son, earned an MBA from Harvard and worked on Wall Street for about five years before joining the family firm around 1970, working alongside his father until Ed's death.
Leadership
Max succeeded to leadership in 1986 and formally became president, guiding Heaven Hill through the difficult bourbon market of the 1980s and 1990s by diversifying across spirit categories and acquiring brands when many competitors were selling. He encouraged master distiller Parker Beam to expand research and development, helping position the company for the American whiskey revival.
The 1996 fire
On November 7, 1996, a catastrophic warehouse fire destroyed roughly 90,000–100,000 barrels of bourbon — a substantial share of the world's supply at the time. No lives or jobs were lost, and Max Shapira found work for every employee the next day. The company secured production capacity from competitors and later acquired the Bernheim Distillery in Louisville in 1999.
Honors and succession
In 2018 Shapira became the third recipient of the Kentucky Bourbon Hall of Fame's Parker Beam Lifetime Achievement Award, after Jimmy Russell and Bill Samuels Jr. In 2022 he transitioned to executive chairman as his daughter Kate Shapira Latts and her husband Allan Latts became co-presidents, marking the third generation of family leadership.