Fresh Vine Wine, Inc. (NYSE American: VINE), the premier producer
of premium lower carb, lower sugar, and lower calorie wines in the
United States, today announced that its Board of Director has
appointed Roger Cockroft as its new Chief Executive Officer.
Michael D. Pruitt, Chairman of the Board of Directors, said,
“The Board is extremely pleased to welcome someone of Roger’s
accomplishments as our new Chief Executive Officer. The Board
considered several highly qualified candidates for the position,
and throughout the process it became clear that Roger was the kind
of hands-on professional leader, with extensive experience managing
business transformations, that we need to unlock Fresh Vine Wine’s
full potential. Throughout his career he has achieved large-scale
change and meaningfully improved financial results through both
revenue growth and improvements in operational efficiency. And,
with his experience in private equity, Roger also has a strong
grasp on financial management and the capital markets. His long
track record of success has us confident Roger will be able to
build on the progress achieved to date and leverage our national,
online and retail franchise to create value for our
shareholders.”
Mr. Pruitt added, “The Board also wants to recognize and thank
Rick Nechio, who has served admirably as Interim Chief Executive
Officer for the past six months, for his willingness to fill this
role during the transition. We are very pleased that Rick will be
remaining with Fresh Vine, returning to his preferred role as head
of sales development.”
Roger Cockroft commented, “I am truly looking forward to my new
role at Fresh Vine Wine, and I want to thank the Board for their
confidence. Since its inception just a few short years ago, Fresh
Vine Wine has made tremendous progress building a national
footprint with both national and regional big box retailers and
grocers, as well as in direct-to-consumer (DTC) and online. The
product is exceptional, having earned numerous awards at
prestigious wine competitions across the country. We are in a big,
fast-growing food and beverage category, Better-for-You, with
significant opportunity, supported by Nina Dobrev and Julianne
Hough, who were instrumental in developing the brand and bringing
Tier 1 awareness to it. Consequently, I believe Fresh Vine Wine is
in an enviable position to achieve rapid expansion and
significantly penetrate underserved markets. I look forward to
working with Rick, Jamey Whetstone, and the rest of the team to
build on the existing platform to drive further growth and generate
the attractive returns deserved of such a strong franchise.”
Rick Nechio, previously interim CEO, concluded, “These are
exciting times at Fresh Vine Wine, and we are thrilled that Roger
has come on board to provide the experience and knowledge needed to
drive the company to the next level. I am equally thrilled to now
devote more time to our sales growth strategy, where I am truly
excited by the market momentum we have achieved and the significant
improvement in retail velocity that we saw in the first quarter.
Those are strong indicators that consumer interest is strengthening
behind our brand.”
Roger Cockroft is currently Executive Partner at Salt Creek
Capital, a San Francisco Bay Area private equity firm acquiring
profitable, lower middle market businesses across the U.S. He has
operational responsibilities as Executive Board Member of Capital
Building Maintenance, a fast-growing industrial service company,
which is a Salt Creek portfolio company.
Prior to his involvement with Salt Creek, he was CEO and on the
Board at MDC Vacuum Products, LLC, a multinational manufacturer of
scientific and industrial products with locations in California,
Florida, UK, France, and Germany, where over a period of three
years he tripled revenue and increased EBITDA by over 7X. Mr.
Cockroft also served as Chairman & CEO of Buhive Group, a
successful business incubator that he founded, resulting in the
start-up of nine separate businesses, three of which were
successfully sold. He was also CEO & Founding owner of Farsund
Aluminum Casting, with locations in Norway and Germany, a
first-tier supplier of aluminum castings to the automotive
industry, which he co-owned with Porsche AS. Mr. Cockroft was also
previously VP of New Business at Constellation Energy and was
Associate Director: Strategic Change & Performance Improvement
at IBM Global Services. His career includes stints in public
accounting with KPMG as well as other automotive industry
assignments with Kostal (Germany, UK), Land Rover and Toyota.
Mr. Cockroft is a graduate of the MIT Sloan School of
Management, where he obtained a Master of Business Administration,
and has a B.S. in Industrial Information Technology from Birmingham
City University, Birmingham, U.K.
Press contact – FreshVineWine@jonesworks.comIR contact
– Joeh@gregoryfca.com
About Fresh Vine Wine, Inc.Fresh Vine Wine,
Inc. (NYSE American: VINE) is a premier producer of lower carb,
lower calorie premium wines in the United States. Fresh Vine Wine's
brand vision is to lead the emerging natural and accessible premium
wine category, as health trends continue to accelerate in the US
marketplace. Fresh Vine Wine positions its core brand lineup as an
affordable luxury, retailing between $14.99-$24.99 per bottle.
Fresh Vine Wine's varietals currently include its Cabernet
Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Rosé, Sauvignon Blanc, Sparkling
Rosé, and a limited Reserve Napa Cabernet Sauvignon. All varietals
are produced and bottled in Napa,
California.Forward-Looking StatementsThis press
release includes forward-looking statements. These forward-looking
statements generally can be identified by the use of words such as
"anticipate," "expect," "plan," "could," "may," "will," "believe,"
"estimate," "forecast," "goal," "project," and other words of
similar meaning. These forward-looking statements address various
matters including statements regarding the timing or nature of
future operating or financial performance or other events. Each
forward-looking statement contained in this press release is
subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results
to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such
statement. Applicable risks and uncertainties include, among
others, our ability to achieve positive cash flow from our
operations on our anticipated timeframes or at all; our ability to
sustain increased distributor depletions and retailer sales of
Fresh Vine Wine and the impact that distributor depletions and
retailer sales of our wines will have on our future revenues; the
launch of the Company’s wines with national and regional grocery
retailers and the impact of such launch the Company’s operating
results; the Company's ability to hire additional personnel and to
manage the growth of its business; the Company's reliance on its
brand name, reputation and product quality; the Company's ability
to adequately address increased demands that may be placed on its
management, operational and production capabilities; the
effectiveness of the Company's advertising and promotional
activities and investments; the Company's reliance on celebrities
to endorse its wines and market its brand; general competitive
conditions; fluctuations in consumer demand for wine; overall
decline in the health of the economy and consumer discretionary
spending; the occurrence of adverse weather events, natural
disasters, public health emergencies, or other unforeseen
circumstances that may cause delays to or interruptions in the
Company's operations; risks associated with disruptions in the
Company's supply chain for grapes and raw and processed materials;
the impact of COVID-19 and its variants on the Company's customers,
suppliers, business operations and financial results; disrupted or
delayed service by the distributors the Company relies on for the
distribution of its wines; the Company's ability to successfully
execute its growth strategy; the Company's success in retaining or
recruiting, or changes required in, its officers, key employees or
directors; the Company's ability to protect its trademarks and
other intellectual property rights; the Company's ability to comply
with laws and regulations affecting its business, including those
relating to the manufacture, sale and distribution of wine; claims,
demands and lawsuits to which the Company are or may be subject and
the risk that its insurance or indemnities coverage may not be
sufficient; the Company's ability to operate, update or implement
its IT systems; the Company's ability to successfully pursue
strategic acquisitions and integrate acquired businesses; the
Company's potential ability to obtain additional financing when and
if needed; the Company's founders' significant influence over the
Company; and the risks identified in the Company's other filings
with the SEC. The Company cautions investors not to place
considerable reliance on the forward-looking statements contained
in this press release. You are encouraged to read the Company's
filings with the SEC, available at www.sec.gov, for a discussion of
these and other risks and uncertainties. The forward-looking
statements in this press release speak only as of the date of this
document, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update or
revise any of these statements. The Company's business is subject
to substantial risks and uncertainties, including those referenced
above. Investors, potential investors, and others should give
careful consideration to these risks and uncertainties.
Fresh Vine Wine (AMEX:VINE)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jun 2024 to Jul 2024
Fresh Vine Wine (AMEX:VINE)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jul 2023 to Jul 2024