The Old Diocesan Issue 10 - Magazine - Page 38
THE CEO:
RICHARD BLACK
The liquor industry is awash with celebrity-endorsed brands, but those
with credibility tend to have more to them than star power alone.
Richard Black is CEO of one: Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s billiondollar tequila Teremana. Richard talks to Tudor Caradoc-Davies about
his journey from Bishops to NYC, and the lessons learnt along the way
F
irst things first: how does
one address mega-star
actor and former WWE
wrestler The Rock when
face to face? It’s the geological
moniker that throws you. If you’re
familiar with him, as Richard Black
(1998S) is, it’s not “The Rock”, “Rock”,
“Dwayne” or “Sir, yes sir”. It’s “DJ”.
Now we know.
When I speak to Richard, he’s
at the office in New York, where
he resides. Prior to that it’s been
Hawaii, San Francisco, Monaco,
London, Cape Town. What sounds
like a tour of the most iconic cities
in the world was the career path
that led him to where he is now,
running one of the fastest-growing
tequila brands on the planet.
Richard puts it into perspective
by comparing Teremana’s growth
to that of Tito’s vodka, one of the
most successful spirits brands in
the US. It took Tito’s 17 years to get
to one million cases. Teremana got
there in three. Having been with
the company for a year, he doesn’t
claim that success for himself – but
he is now in charge as they expand
globally in 2024.
So how did he get here? Richard’s
career was mostly an upward curve,
but as with so many success
stories, there was at least one
34 | THE OLD DIOCESAN
sideways section – and a dip. These
deviations contributed as much as
the good years, and put him in a
position to get the job he has today.
Leaving school in 1998, Richard
opted for the classic UK gap year,
working at White Arrow Express
and H&M factories. “I’m a Cape
Town boytjie,” he says. “I was born
and bred there; I still support the
Stormers. It’s one of the greatest
places in the world. But I definitely
had cabin fever. Working night
shifts at minimum-wage jobs in
London really gave me insight into
the privilege we had at Bishops.”
Richard returned to study at UCT
and then at Red & Yellow Creative
School of Business. While he was
trying to decide what to do with
his life, the answer came in the
form of alcohol – vodka, specifically.
“At UCT, I picked up some electives
in marketing, and I found that
I loved the psychology of it. The
light-bulb moment was when I did
a blind versus branded vodka taste
test. Back then, Grey Goose was an
extremely popular vodka, so when
people knew it was Grey Goose, it
came first – but when they didn’t
know it was Grey Goose, it was
number five. That showed me the
power of marketing and really
sparked something for me.”
His first proper job was at Edward
Snell & Co, which represents
companies such as Cuervo,
William Grant & Sons and Rémy in
South Africa. Today, Richard places
a lot of weight on the importance
of relationships in business, and he
credits his years at Edward Snell
– and the people he worked with
– for that. “It’s a fantastic familyrun South African company with
amazing people who I’m still in
touch with 20 years later. In terms
of success or career opportunities,
relationships and being with good
people are so critical. Nobody
succeeds at anything completely
on their own. It’s about the people
you surround yourself with and
the people you work with.”
That feeling of professional
respect was clearly mutual.
Within a year of starting work
on the Campari brand in South
Africa, he was approached to be
the regional manager for Africa.
He’s quite frank about how green
he was and how he lacked the
experience to take on that job.
“I think they thought that because
I’m from South Africa, I would
know Africa – but something
you realise quickly is that South
Africa is isolated from the rest of
Africa, and really quite different.