Lou Ratto
Strategic Advisor
Lou grew up and continues to reside in Santa Rosa, California. Armed with an associate degree in accounting from his hometown’s Empire College, he joined North Bay Corporation, his family’s solid waste and recycling business. During his 26-year tenure, the company grew to 440 employees serving 140,000 customers throughout most of Sonoma County, Novato, and other areas within Marin and Mariposa Counties in Northern California. As the company grew, Lou’s career grew commensurately, culminating in his position as COO for the final 15 years preceding the company’s sale in 2017 to Recology of San Francisco. In addition to his work with North Bay, for the last 14 years Lou has served on the Board of Directors of Santa Rosa’s Poppy Bank, during which time the bank’s assets have grown from $500 million to $6 billion. As CEO of The Ratto Group of companies, which include property management and real estate development, and COO of the Roblar Road Quarry, the first open rock quarry to open in Sonoma County in 25 years, Lou has honed his skills in regulatory compliance, financial management, governmental affairs, and public relations. Lou and his family have known, worked and invested with the Costello family for half a century, so when the Costellos introduced him to their latest venture and he sampled the company’s signature drink, it was inevitable that he would become both a yerba mate convert as well as the latest addition to Tukã’s C-suite of executives.