Sean Sullivan has served as our Executive Vice President, Chief Strategy and Legal Officer since February 2019 and leads the strategy and legal teams, which include business strategy, regulatory compliance, mergers and acquisitions, investor relations, SEC reporting, ESG, governmental relations and safety. From 2012 to 2019, Mr. Sullivan was an attorney at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, an international law firm, advising consumer products, life sciences and technology companies on IPOs and other securities offerings, mergers and acquisitions and public company SEC filings. Prior to that, Mr. Sullivan worked as an investment banker in Credit Suisse Group AG’s technology, media and telecom group. Mr. Sullivan received a JD from Columbia Law School and BA in economics and politics from St. Mary’s College of California.
Pete Przybylinski has served as our Executive Vice President, Chief Sales Officer since July 2010. Mr. Przybylinski leads our wholesale team and focuses his efforts on team leadership, distributor management and executive-level strategy development. Prior to his current role, he held a number of sales roles of increasing responsibility in the organization since joining Duckhorn in 1995. Mr. Przybylinski holds a BBA in risk management and insurance from the University of Georgia, Terry College of Business.
Zach Rasmuson has served as our Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer since 2012, after serving as the Winemaker and General Manager for Goldeneye since joining the Company in 2003. Previously, Mr. Rasmuson worked for wineries such as Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars, Robert Sinskey Vineyards and Husch Vineyards. Mr. Rasmuson received his BA in philosophy and the history of science from St. John’s College.
Gayle Bartscherer has served as our Executive Vice President, Chief Marketing and DTC Officer since 2022. From 2016 until March 2022, Ms. Bartscherer served as SVP International Sales, Marketing and Business Development at Jackson Family Wines (JFW), a multinational wine company. During her 14 years with JFW, Ms. Bartscherer held several key positions, including Brand Manager, Director of Marketing, and Vice President of International Marketing and Business Development. After starting in the accounting industry, Ms. Bartscherer began her career in wine at Blue Lifestyle. Ms. Bartscherer also worked at Bon Appetit Magazine and Santa Barbara-based Beckmen Vineyards in marketing and operations. Ms. Bartscherer holds a BA in French and Italian from the University College London.
Charles Esserman has over 30 years of private equity investment experience and co-founded TSG Consumer Partners, LLC, where he has served as Chief Executive Officer since 1987. He is the Chair of TSG Consumer Partners’ Investment Committee. Prior to TSG Consumer Partners, Mr. Esserman was with Bain & Company, Inc. Mr. Esserman holds a BS in computer science engineering, with top honors, from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an MBA from Stanford University, where he was an Arjay Miller Scholar. Mr. Esserman has served as a member of the Board of Directors of Dutch Bros Inc., an operator and franchisor of drive-thru beverage shops, since August 2021. He has also served on the Board of Advisors of the Stanford Graduate School of Business and the Board of Trust of Vanderbilt University. We believe Mr. Esserman’s experience as co-founder and CEO of a private equity firm and as a director of various companies qualifies him to serve on our Board.
Michelle Gloeckler served as Interim Chief Executive Officer at Holley Inc., an automotive products company, from February to June 2023. From August 2016 to January 2019, Ms. Gloeckler was Executive Vice President, Chief Merchant and President International at Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc., a sporting goods retailer. From 2009 to 2016 she served as EVP, Consumables, Health and Wellness at Walmart Inc., a multinational retailer, where she led the company’s health and wellness business. Ms. Gloeckler led the President’s Global Council of Women Leaders and the US Manufacturing commitment for Walmart. Prior to Walmart, Ms. Gloeckler spent 21 years at The Hershey Company in various sales and marketing executive roles. Since September 2019, Ms. Gloeckler has served on the board of BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc., a wholesale retailer, where she sits on the nominating and governance committee. In May 2021, Ms. Gloeckler joined the board of Holley where she was appointed to chair both its compensation and talent committee and nominating and governance committee. In December 2021, Ms. Gloeckler joined the Board of Pairwise Plants LLC, an agriculture technology company, where she is the chair of the compensation committee. From 2019 to 2021, Ms. Gloeckler served on the board of Benson Hill, Inc., an agriculture company, and served on its audit committee. Ms. Gloeckler is an advisor to Blendid Products, LLC and Peep Performance LLC and was a member of the LSA Dean’s Advisory Council at the University of Michigan from 2014 until 2022. She has served on various non-profit boards, including the boards of Walton Arts Center, The NACDS Foundation, Susan G. Komen of the Ozarks, Network of Executive Women (National Chair) and United Way. Ms. Gloeckler holds a BA in communication and psychology from the University of Michigan. We believe Ms. Gloeckler’s experience in retail, consumer products and her executive leadership qualifies her to serve on our Board.
2