Robert P. Koch (born January 13, 1960) is the president and CEO of the Wine Institute, acting as its chief lobbyist in Washington, D.C., and

Sacramento, California Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat, seat of Sacramento County, California, Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento Rive ...

Life and career

Koch is the son of George William Koch, past president of the

Grocery Manufacturers Association The Consumer Brands Association (CBA), formerly the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA), is a United States-wide trade association for manufacturers of consumer packaged goods (CPG). The CBA represents companies that manufacture food, beve ...

. In 1992, he married Dorothy Bush,

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...

's daughter, at a private ceremony held at

Camp David Camp David is a country retreat for the president of the United States. It lies in the wooded hills of Catoctin Mountain Park, in Frederick County, Maryland, near the towns of Thurmont, Maryland, Thurmont and Emmitsburg, Maryland, Emmitsburg, a ...

—the only couple to have married there. They have two children, and Dorothy has two children from her first marriage. Koch started his career in politics working for Tony Coelho and was part of his campaign to become House Majority Whip. Koch later became staff director for House Majority Leader Richard Gephardt before joining the Wine Institute. Since becoming President and CEO in June 2003, membership has grown 70% to over 1,000 Californian wineries and affiliated businesses which are predominantly family owned. He has a substantial equity interest in the Central European Distribution Corporation, a company that manufactures and distributes

vodka Vodka ( ; is a clear distilled beverage, distilled alcoholic beverage. Its varieties originated in Poland and Russia. Vodka is composed mainly of water and ethanol but sometimes with traces of impurities and flavourings. Traditionally, it is ...

in Poland. Koch is active in raising funds to find a cure for

Crohn's disease Crohn's disease is a type of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that may affect any segment of the gastrointestinal tract. Symptoms often include abdominal pain, diarrhea, fever, abdominal distension, and weight loss. Complications outside of the ...

and

ulcerative colitis Ulcerative colitis (UC) is one of the two types of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), with the other type being Crohn's disease. It is a long-term condition that results in inflammation and ulcers of the colon and rectum. The primary sympto ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Koch, Bobby American lobbyists Bush family Living people 1960 births