THE FOUNDERS

LARRY SKOLLER, Co-Founder and President (at right)

Larry Skoller began his career in music as a blues guitarist in Chicago accompanying many of the greatest artists in the blues and roots music genres. He is a music producer with three Grammy Award nominations and is president of his Chicago-based record label Raisin’Music. He has also been a co-founder and artistic director for music festivals and has also organized music education programs in the USA, Europe and Africa.

In 2001, his concert touring led him to perform at the Cognac Blues Passions Festival where he met his future wife, a native of the region, and he moved permanently to Cognac in 2002. In 2004, Larry’s longtime interest in wine and spirits led him to co-found the company Family Tradition Cognac, which exports artisanal, family-made vine-to-bottle cognac to the United States.

Larry co-founded with Jean Pasquet and Marion Duband the company SAS Maison Artonic in 2018. He shares his professional commitments between Maison Artonic, Family Tradition Cognac and music production.

JEAN PASQUET, Co-Founder and Cognac Maker

Building on the excellence of eight generations of Pasquet family cognac production, Jean Pasquet is at the forefront of a creative and forward-thinking new generation of organic cognac producers. He is one of this industry’s beacons in using eco-sustainable methods to produce high quality, award-winning cognacs.

After earning a Masters degree in viticulture and oenology, and before taking over the family domain, Jean traveled the world researching wine and spirit production techniques outside of France, which has informed his own production methods back home.

A visionary and perfectionist, Jean is a master of his craft and knows the spirits trade well. He has participated in the explosion of super premium spirit production in the Cognac region and, in observing the growing popularity of cognac as a cocktail spirit, he was particularly motivated by the challenge of developing ARTONIC, France’s first line of premium organic mixers.

MARION DUBAND, Co-Founder and General Director

Born and raised in the Cognac region, Marion Duband grew up surrounded by vineyards, distilleries and cognac. Fascinated by the world of fine spirits, Marion feels privileged to live in a region with such a unique heritage and bounty of savoir-faire.
She always knew that she wanted to participate in the promotion and growth of her region’s products and economy.

A graduate from the prestigious University of Segonzac School of Eau de Vie, Marion holds Masters degrees in international trade, law, management and international promotion of wines and spirits. After launching her career in France, she worked with global brands in South America and Asia. Having garnered valuable international experience, Marion returned home and put her skills and talent to helping the local independent wine and spirits producers develop, adapt and better navigate their businesses in an ever-changing, complicated international marketplace.

Marion joined forces with Larry and Jean after she recognized an exciting opportunity to help develop a local beverage start-up that would fill a real need for the Cognac region’s super premium spirit producers, and that would allow her not only to fully participate in the universe of Cognac’s spirits production but also realize the potential of ARTONIC as a global brand.