Aldo Madrigrano

Retirement was around the corner, and Aldo and Dawn Madrigrano were eager to get a jump-start on the next phase of life. So in 2012, the Wisconsin natives packed up and left the harsh midwest climate for the balmy Nevada desert.

Las Vegas was a natural landing spot for the couple. Not only had Aldo’s parents established a presence in the city when they purchased a second home in 1978, but his sister had been a Las Vegas teacher since 1985 and his cousins owned multiple Las Vegas-based businesses.

Also, as active members of the beer industry — Aldo owned a third-generation family distributorship, while Dawn spent nearly 40 years in the sales division of Molson Coors — the two regularly attended conventions and tradeshows in the Entertainment Capital of the World.

They liked Vegas and were eager to plant some new roots — starting with making an immediate positive impact in their new community, just as they had done back in Wisconsin.

First stop in their new hometown: UNLV.

“My parents taught their children at a young age that universities are the heartbeat of any city, and it’s important to do whatever we can to ensure those institutions thrive,” Aldo Madrigrano says. “So we sought out the school because we understood that it’s one of the city’s most important economic drivers.”

Having built his company — Beer Capitol Distributing — into one of the nation’s largest beer distributorships (and the largest in the state of Wisconsin), Madrigrano and his wife were in the fortunate financial position to support UNLV.

Initially, the Madrigranos’ philanthropy targeted Rebel Athletics, with their first Loyalty Circle gift earmarked for the women’s golf program. “We wanted to start by focusing on a faction of the athletic department that did not get a lot of help,” Aldo Madrigrano says.

Then came the Madrigrano Family Endowment for Academic Excellence, as well as an endowed fund to the UNLV men’s basketball team. That was followed by a cornerstone donation to the Fertitta Football Complex, which now houses the Madrigrano Family Sports Medicine Center.

The philanthropic contributions didn’t stop there. In fact, almost since their arrival in Las Vegas more than a dozen years ago, the Madrigranos have been one of the most consistent — and consistently significant — supporters of the UNLV Athletics Department.

That support extends beyond sports, too — and, for that matter, beyond the university.

For instance, Madrigrano joined the UNLV Foundation Board of Trustees in 2020. He also is a member of the Las Vegas Bowl Executive Board, and he recently joined the Dignity Health Board of Directors. And back in Wisconsin, Madrigrano has been a member of the Howard Young Hospital Foundation Board of Directors since 2009 (currently serving as vice chairman).

Previously, Madrigrano served on the boards of several other Wisconsin-based community and business organizations, including the Wisconsin State Fair, the Milwaukee Convention & Visitors Bureau, the Milwaukee Athletes for Childhood Cancer, and the National Beer Wholesalers Association.

All of which explains why Madrigrano is a six-time winner of the Miller High Life Achievement Award. And why he’s the recipient of the 2025 Silver State Award, the most prestigious honor the UNLV Alumni Association bestows on a non-alumnus/alumna.

While touched by this latest recognition, Madrigrano views his and his wife’s ongoing commitment to UNLV as nothing more than an extension of that give-back ethos instilled in him by his parents. In the end, the Madrigranos are simply investing in their community’s future.

“We do this because the education that UNLV provides is so important to the long-term health of this great city,” Aldo Madrigrano says. “Awards like this are great and very humbling, but getting things done is what is truly gratifying. Having an opportunity to play a small part in uplifting others is the biggest reward.”

Living in the Milwaukee area, you spent your entire career in your family’s beer distribution operation, including serving as CEO of Beer Capitol Distributing. What are the origins of the family business, and how fulfilling was your career?

My family has been in beer distribution since 1933. In fact, one grandfather was in the beer business and the other was in the dairy business — both operated across the street from each other. We were also in the soft drink business as bottlers in Wisconsin.

I took over the beer distributorship from my father after he died at the young age of 59. I was just 22 years old at the time, but I was lucky to be able to spend time learning the business as a teenager. That experience allowed me to step in and lead after my father’s passing. 

I eventually purchased the business from my family, and it felt good to be able to continue to grow it. By the time I retired, we were the 20th largest beer wholesaler in the country and No. 1 in Wisconsin. 

My career has been such a gift — not only for the opportunity to work side-by side with family but also our great and loyal employees. 

What’s the biggest misconception the general public has about a career spent entirely in the beer industry?

That you spend most of your time out tossing back beers! Well, of course that happens, which makes it a great business to be in. But being a very highly regulated industry, we spend a lot of time working and dealing with local, state, and federal lawmakers. That’s critical, because every state has different alcohol laws and different laws that govern different types of alcohol.  

A lot of hours and manpower are also devoted to marketing the business, even at the street level educating people about our products. In fact, ours is very much a hands-on business that involves a lot of one-on-one contact with customers. Developing long-lasting and trusting relationships with suppliers are keys to success in any distribution business — and especially the beer industry.

You sold Beer Capitol Distributing when you retired in 2016. How has the adjustment to life as a retiree gone?

Retirement has been great. I still do some consulting, but most of my time is dedicated to my new business interest: philanthropy. Dawn and I love to see things grow and love to help others.

How did you come to be involved with the UNLV Foundation’s board, and how enriching has that experience been?

My friend Joe Murphy, last year’s Silver State Award honoree, introduced me to people on the board, as well as UNLV Athletics Director Erick Harper. Shortly after that introduction, I was asked to join the board, and I didn’t hesitate to say yes. 

The experience has been great. The board is filled with tremendously successful business leaders and dedicated educators — and we all pretty much speak the same language, which is a big plus. 

We’re all working toward the same goal, which is to ensure that the university continues to prosper. And the best way to do that is to invest in the students who will soon be our community’s leaders.

What’s your message to today’s UNLV students about the importance of giving back — be it volunteering their time, donating money, or both?

Start now, while you’re in school. Not with financial donations, obviously, but in identifying areas you want to give back to. As active students, you have a front-row seat to the needs of fellow students and the university as a whole.

Take note of these needs and commit to doing your part to make a positive difference as soon as you graduate. Philanthropy doesn’t always have to be about money; you can also donate your time, your ideas, your skills. It all counts.

Another important message for today’s Rebels: Consider establishing your professional and personal roots here after earning your degree. Ours is a great city and community with abundant opportunities in a vast array of industries. You don’t have to leave; everything you could possibly want is here. So think about sticking around and giving back to the place that gave something important to you.

People forget that UNLV is still, relatively speaking, a young university. Because of that, we have some catching up to do in the philanthropy department. And you can be an integral part of the process.