Tully's Board of Directors Appoints Carl W. Pennington New Chairman of the Board
July 09, 2010
Tom “Tully” O’Keefe Retires as Chairman; Two New Board Members Elected
Seattle, Wash. – July 9, 2010 – TC Global, Inc., dba Tully’s Coffee (Tully’s), a leading specialty coffee retailer, today announced its board of directors has appointed current company President and CEO, Carl W. Pennington, as the new Chairman of the Board.
Pennington will succeed company founder Tom “Tully” O’Keefe, who served as Chairman since the company’s inception in 1992 until his retirement effective June 30, 2010. O’Keefe, who was the original driving force behind the building of the Tully’s brand, widely regarded as one of the top gourmet brands in the coffee world, originally announced his intention to retire during Tully’s annual shareholder meeting in March.
Upon being named Tully’s president in January 2008, Pennington was instrumental in refocusing corporate strategies and assembling the current management team that guided Tully’s to its first positive EBITDA earnings report from continued operations in the companies 18 year history, prior to selling the wholesale division to Green Mountain Coffee Roasters for $40.3 million in March 2009.
Pennington’s focus on improving retail store operations, enhancing the customer experience and strengthening barista training has elevated the overall retail outlook and has led to an aggressive growth strategy with an emphasis on franchising and creating franchise partnerships with single-unit operators.
Additionally, effective July 1, 2010, the board of directors elected Walter Schoenfeld, and effective July 8, 2010, Scott Anderson, to serve as directors of the Company.
Schoenfeld is chairman of Schoenfeld Group, serves as a director of Foundation Bank of Bellevue, Washington, and also serves as trustee of the Barbara Sinatra Children’s Center at Eisenhower Hospital in Rancho Mirage, California.
Anderson has been a principal of Cedar Grove Partners, LLC, an investment and advisory firm, since 1997, and a principal of Cedar Grove Investments, LLC, a private seed capital firm, since 1998. Anderson previously served in various senior management positions with McCaw Cellular Communications, Inc./AT&T Wireless Services, Inc., most recently as the Senior Vice President of Acquisitions and Development.
ABOUT TC GLOBAL, INC.:
TC Global, Inc., dba Tully’s Coffee, is a leading specialty coffee retailer and wholesaler. Through company owned, licensed and franchised specialty retail stores in Washington, Oregon, California, Arizona, Idaho, Montana, Colorado, Wyoming and Utah, throughout Asia with Tully’s Coffee International, and with its global alliance partner Tully’s Coffee Japan, Tully’s premium coffees are available at nearly 600 branded retail locations globally, including more than 200 in the United States. TC Global also has the rights to distribute Tully’s coffee through all wholesale channels internationally, outside of North America, the Caribbean and Japan. TC Global’s corporate headquarters is located at 3100 Airport Way S, in Seattle, WA. For more information: (800) MY-TULLY or TullysCoffeeShops.com.
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