|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
In 2024, Pronghorn made significant progress towards reaching its 10-year goal to place 1,800 Black candidates in industry roles, investing in 57 Black-owned spirits brands, and creating $2.4 billion in economic value by 2032. As Pronghorn continues to accelerate its pursuit of economic and industry impact, they are excited to announce the appointment of Ron Cole as the Company’s new president.
Cole brings a wealth of expertise in consumer goods from leadership roles at Nestlé Purina, Kerry Foods, and Reckitt, where he drove business impact through P&L management, market expansion and developing brands that consumers love.
“I believe diversity is a growth engine for organizations. It allows you to connect deeper with consumers and enables innovative thinking,” says Cole. “Joining Pronghorn is especially exciting for me because it provides the opportunity to invest and close the knowledge, access to equity and ownership gap within an underrepresented community in the spirits industry.”
Leading Pronghorn’s Next Phase of Growth and Impact
Conceived in 2020 and launched in 2022 by co-founders Dia Simms, Erin J. Hall, and Dan Sanborn, Pronghorn was created to develop a template to diversify any industry – starting with the spirits industry and the Black community. Pronghorn serves as a hybrid accelerator and industry-wide change agent by providing new opportunities for Black founders, entrepreneurs, and executives in the spirits industry.
“Pronghorn is in growth mode. Ron is coming onboard at the perfect time to accelerate that growth and ensure our impact is long lasting. Equity is driven by economics. Under Ron’s leadership, Pronghorn will continue to drive the spirit of principled capitalism forward,” says Dia Simms, Pronghorn board member and co-founder.
Based in Pronghorn’s Metro Atlanta headquarters, Cole will be integral in ushering the next phase of Pronghorn’s growth and impact.
As Cole steps into his new role as Pronghorn’s president, he inherits a momentum that has been building since Pronghorn’s inception—a momentum now crystallized in its 2024 Impact Report which reveals a year of remarkable growth and impact.
Key highlights include:
- 28 new brand investments with additional ones on the horizon.
- Expanded career development efforts through the Talent and Bridge Building program leading to:
- The placement of 11 student interns
- 25+ completions of Pronghorn’s mid-career Spirits Prep program
- 400+ mentorship hours completed
- These efforts have ignited a wave of opportunity, propelling a 10% surge in Black American representation at the supplier tier since 2021.
2025 marks a pivotal year for Pronghorn, propelled by its achievements in 2024. With the appointment of Cole, and recent investments in Mocktail Club and Kingston Imperial Sorrel, Pronghorn stands poised to make an even greater impact in 2025.
The Pronghorn Portfolio is available nationwide and can also be found online at ReserveBar.
Interested in employment in the spirits industry? Visit Pronghorn on the website.
