Yerba Madre, the Oakland-based yerba mate brand available in over 45,000 retail locations across the U.S. and Canada, has named Steve Lesnard as Chief Executive Officer, effective July 20, 2026. Lesnard transitions from the company's Board of Directors, succeeding Ben Mand, who restructured Yerba Madre's supply chain and distribution infrastructure during what the board describes as a foundational operating period.
The executive transition follows a brand rename — the company rebranded from Guayakí Yerba Mate to Yerba Madre — and a shift from self-distribution to regional distribution partnerships. That operational reset is now complete, and the board is signaling that growth acceleration is the next priority.
The Operator Calculus
For buyers, distributors, and retail category managers, Lesnard's appointment is a directional signal worth tracking. His career arc — building Nike Women's and Running into global categories, serving as CMO at The North Face, Chief Brand Officer at Sephora, and President at Godiva — maps squarely onto the playbook of a brand reaching for the next tier of retail shelf space and consumer mindshare. His work at Nike includes commercializing Nike+, LunarGlide, Nike React, and the Vaporfly, each a product that grew a community before it grew a category.
Emily White, Chairman of the Board, noted that Lesnard's boardroom familiarity with the business was a decisive factor: "He has spent his career building brands people love — and scaling them while preserving their authenticity. That is exactly the balance our brand requires."
For foodservice and grocery operators stocking functional beverages, the leadership change raises a practical question: will Lesnard's brand-marketing orientation accelerate velocity at existing accounts, or drive a push into new channels — foodservice, hospitality, convenience — where yerba mate remains underpenetrated relative to energy drinks and enhanced waters?
Distribution and Board Intelligence
The brand is also adding Scott Miller to its Board of Directors. Miller is co-founder and CEO of YESLY Water and carries distribution-side experience from Essentia, Keurig Dr Pepper, and Tampico — a beverage industry résumé weighted heavily toward mass-market channel development. Pairing a brand-builder CEO with a distribution-experienced board member is a classic growth-stage governance configuration, and it telegraphs where Yerba Madre's near-term investment is likely to concentrate.
Yerba Madre's regenerative credentials — Regenerative Organic Certified Gold, founding B Corp status, direct sourcing from 257 Indigenous and farmer families across Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay — have long differentiated the brand in natural retail. The challenge Lesnard inherits is converting that mission equity into mainstream distribution scale without diluting what makes the brand resonate with its core buyer.
For operators sourcing functional beverages for hotel minibars, café programs, or better-for-you retail sets, Yerba Madre's distribution footprint and brand momentum are worth watching as Lesnard moves from boardroom to operating chair. Buyers negotiating 2027 planograms should expect a more aggressive commercial conversation from this brand's sales team in the back half of 2026.
Operators tracking the functional beverage category can find related coverage in our brand-launch intelligence section and our ongoing operator intelligence reports on beverage trends.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
