The Tinley Beverage Company Inc. announced that beverage industry veteran Richard Gillis has been appointed to the role of President and Chief Operating Officer, Tinley USA. Mr. Gillis previously served as President, Tinley Western USA, where he oversaw the buildout of the Company’s 20,000 square foot co-packing facility and the launch of several Company-branded beverages. The Company also announces that Founder and CEO, Jeff Maser, has stepped down from his role as CEO and director and will join the Company’s advisory board. Rick Gillis, together with Directors Ted Zittell and Douglas Fulton, have formed an Office of the CEO to manage all corporate activities with company management on an interim basis while a search for a CEO is underway.
Prior to joining Tinley, Rick Gillis served as General Manager, Coca-Cola Enterprises for the Southwest US. In this capacity, Mr. Gillis oversaw thousands of employees in multiple bottling, distribution and sales facilities for one of the company’s largest regional business units. He subsequently served as President of Young’s Market Company which, under his tenure, was the second-largest beverage alcohol distributor in the Western USA. With Tinley’s state of the art cannabis beverage facility experiencing increases in capacity utilization, Mr. Gillis is now best positioned to leverage his extensive experience with scaled beverage operations help lead Tinley’s to its next phase of growth.
Jeff Maser founded the Company in 2015 with a vision to create premium, adult-style beverages that can be enjoyed as alternatives to alcoholic beverages. Working with formulators from the world’s leading beverage alcohol companies over the course of several years, Jeff created low-calorie, non-alcoholic versions of popular adult beverages including ready-to-drink Gin & Tonic, Paloma, Moscow Mule and Lime Margarita, as well as multi-serve Coconut Rum, Cinnamon Whisky, Amaretto and Coffee Liqueurs. All of these formulations contain distilled botanicals and non-cannabis-derived botanical terpenes and are non-alcoholic. As non-cannabis-infused formulations, these products are sold in mainstream grocery, c-store and on premise accounts in the United States and Canada. The Company also sells, or is in the process of manufacturing for sale, cannabis-infused formats through cannabis-licensed manufacturers and distributors.
“Bringing Tinley from my initial vision to its current phase of growth has been an extremely challenging and rewarding journey,” commented Mr. Maser. “As founder, I built a team of exceptionally experienced beverage executives, knowing that in-depth expertise in manufacturing, logistics, branding and sales would be needed to truly make Tinley’s a market-leading beverage infrastructure and marketing company. Rick has been a key contributor to our growth for nearly three years, and I am confident with him taking on these additional responsibilities. As an advisory board member, I remain committed to helping drive the Company’s growth into everything that I and our many followers and investors have continued to believe it could be from day one.”
“I want to personally thank Jeff for entrusting me with building the California business, in my original role as well as in this expanded capacity,” said Mr. Gillis. “Jeff’s extraordinary vision and entrepreneurial drive has created a platform that has given us a uniquely-advantaged market position in both California and Canada. I know management and the board all support this decision. All of us are prepared to do what it takes through the CEO search process, and to working with a new CEO through the complexities of the expanding and competitive beverage and cannabis industries.”
About The Tinley Beverage Company and Beckett’s Tonics
The Tinley Beverage Company Inc. manufactures the Beckett’s Classics™ and Beckett’s 27™ line of non-alcoholic, terpene-infused spirits and cocktails. Beckett’s products are available in mainstream food, beverage, and specialty retailers, as well as online, across the United States as well as in grocery and specialty stores in Canada. Cannabis-infused versions of these products are offered under the Tinley’s™ brand in licensed dispensaries and home delivery services throughout California, with expansion to Canada underway. Please visit www.drinkbecketts.com, www.drinktinley.com, Twitter and Instagram (@drinktinleys and @drinkbecketts) for recipes, product information and home delivery options.
