Chris Costello

Board of Directors

After he graduated from UCLA with a B.S. in Economics and Computer Programming, Chris formed a partnership with his brother Casey that was aptly named “PCF” (for positive cash flow). As he helped manage the expansion of various self-storage facilities, Chris gained experience with investor relations, deal structuring and formation, land entitlements, financial auditing and reporting, commercial leasing, business administration, bank financing, and asset management. In 2001, he used those skills in helping with the structuring and fundraising effort that coalesced into a partnership with Kosta Browne Winery. He subsequently led the growth of the winery business and established a new benchmark in Direct-to-Consumer (“DTC”) wine sales, which was the driving force behind the company’s profitability and remains the gold standard by which other wineries are measured. In 2009, he led the effort to monetize this success and spearheaded a new partnership between Kosta Browne and a private equity group. He was subsequently appointed to the Board, charged with developing a production facility that could accommodate future growth, and entrusted with scaling Kosta Browne’s DTC program. Chris remained on the Board and consulted for the new ownership when the business was again sold in 2014, continuing until the company again changed hands in 2018. During his tenure he was instrumental in helping take Kosta Browne from a start-up to more than $200M in monetized value. Chris became familiar with yerba mate in the mid-2000’s and looks forward to leveraging his DTC beverage knowledge and experience in Tukã’s mission to become a premium and highly profitable yerba mate enterprise.