We built upon the monumental advancements that took place within our company in 2020 under the leadership of a new board of directors, and the continued beneficial relationship with our investors. We also reaffirmed our commitment to being a leader in the regenerative business community. Some of the exciting advancements that happened in 2021 include:
- The integration of our brand-focused Guayakí Sustainable Rainforest Products company with our South American operations and our expanding distribution business, The Yerba Mate Company, LLC.
- The formation of a new Board of Directors who lead with the spirit of yerba mate. The new board includes three Guayakí co-founders (Alex Pryor, David Karr, and Chris Mann) and four experienced industry leaders (Emily White, Lorna Davis, Robyn Rutledge, and Stefan Kozak). The co-founding members will continue to steward the vision and regenerative business model of the company. Together, the board will oversee the legal and fiscal responsibility of the organization.
- Guayakí hired a new CEO, Stefan Kozak, in 2021 to lead our integrated Guayakí Yerba Mate, Social Purpose Corporation.
- Guayakí started to build its new executive leadership team in 2021, appointing new leadership for Operations, South America, and Sales from inside the company, and bringing in new leadership to lead Distribution, Marketing, Finance, Human Resources and Legal.
- Establishing a new strategic and operational business planning cycle for our integrated operations which includes more alignment and sharing between our North American and South American business units and longer-term strategic planning amongst our Board of Directors, key investors, and CEO.
- Improving our focus on impact and regeneration through deeper commitments to yerba mate itself via our respective and long-held certifications in organic, fair trade and non-GMO, as well as improvements in our reporting standards through alignment with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and B Corp Impact Assessment.
- Collaboratively working with our long-standing supply chain partners to adjust to the ever-changing demands in our materials and ingredients sourcing due to the continued challenges posed by COVID-19 and the global supply chain constraints.
- Continuing to grow in Operations, expanding certifications such as Regenerative Organic Certified™, strengthening yerba mate processing in Brazil, and maintaining direct contact with yerba mate processing operations.
- Maintaining close ties directly with our Indigenous partners, producers and farmers in Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil to share our vision, dreams, opportunities, and goals.
