AUSTIN, Texas — Desert Door Texas Sotol, the only commercial distiller of sotol in the United States, is proud to announce the addition of industry veterans Mr. Kevin Cooke as Executive Chairman of the Board and Mr. Frank Santangelo as Chief Commercialization Officer effective June 1, 2023.
Kevin Cooke previously held the title of Chief Global Sales Officer for Constellation Brands as well as Global Vice President of Distributor Strategy and Strategic Planning with Beam Suntory. Stepping into this new role and utilizing his data-driven approach, Cooke will assist the Desert Door team with global business strategy, development and commercialization.
Frank Santangelo brings over 25 years of sales industry experience to Desert Door. Santangelo’s most recent stop was with Milestone Brands where he was Vice President of Sales. Santangelo will assist Desert Door with the development and implementation of commercial strategies while targeting key areas of opportunity for growth.
“We are extremely proud to have leaders with such incredible passion and experience join the Desert Door team,” said Brent Looby, Co-founder & CEO of Desert Door. “We recently entered into a national partnership with Southern Glazer Wine and Spirits adding 10 new markets. The addition of Kevin and Frank is going to help us ignite and fuel growth in our current markets and beyond.”
Cooke and Santangelo’s passion for building brands and vast experience within sales and operations will aid in crafting innovative growth strategies to support Desert Door’s market expansion efforts.
About Desert Door
Launched in 2017, Desert Door is the only commercial producer of sotol in the United States. Desert Door’s Texas sotol is made from dasylirion texanum – a vibrant cousin to the agave and native to the West Texas desert. The brand uses sustainable and regenerative practices, including wild harvesting of the sotol plant as opposed to cultivating and farming where plants are often treated with pesticides and herbicides. Wild harvesting also preserves the biodiversity of an area as it does not require clearing large plots of land. Desert Door has three principal products – Original Texas Sotol and Oak Aged Texas Sotol, as well as an annual Conservation Series which helps fund conservation efforts through the brand’s nonprofit, Wild Spirit Wild Places. Their 24,000-square-foot distillery and tasting room are located in Driftwood, Texas. For more information, please visit desertdoor.com and follow @desertdoor on Instagram.
For More Information:
https://www.desertdoor.com/