Capital Teas Expands Its Executive Leadership Team

ANNAPOLIS, Md., Sept. 2, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Capital Teas, one of the nation's leading specialty tea providers, announces the expansion of its executive leadership team. The company has added two senior executives, both with extensive experience in developing and implementing aggressive growth strategies in the consumer goods market.

White House Black Market co-founder Michael Smith has joined Capital Teas as Special Advisor to the company's CEO, Peter Martino.  Additionally, Keith Rogers has signed on as Executive Vice President, incorporating his previous related experience with Dolcezza Gelato and Coffee, where he served as COO, and five years in various leadership roles at Starbucks Coffee Company.  

A reflection of the strength of the specialty tea market, which has seen explosive growth in North America in 2014, Capital Teas received a $5M investment in March and will double the number of its stores by year's end including new locations in Charlottesville, VA, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., and BWI Airport.

"To foster our accelerated development effectively, we have brought aboard two key executives whose collective experience will be crucial to Capital Teas as we forge our path on the national and international consumer goods landscape," said Peter Martino. "Recognizing that we have tremendous opportunity in front of us, we are thrilled to bring aboard two business powerhouses whose strategic insights and experience we admire."

Michael Smith, Special Advisor to the CEO
Michael Smith co-founded White House Black Market and was instrumental in building the brand and business from the ground up, ultimately expanding to 107 locations. In 2003, White House Black Market was acquired for $90M by Chico's FAS, Inc. and Michael moved on to oversee the investor relations and community affairs for all brands within the Chico's FAS portfolio until 2008.  With dual experiences as both an entrepreneur and a corporate executive, Michael understands the priority of creativity, product and customer service, while also setting strategic and operational priorities and procedures.

Keith Rogers, Executive Vice President
Keith Rogers comes to Capital Teas from Dolcezza Gelato and Coffee, where he served as COO from 2013 to 2014.  In his role at Dolcezza, Keith led in building organizational capacity, financial analysis & planning, integrating technology, and strategic development of retail, food manufacturing, and eCommerce. From 2010 to 2011, Keith served as CEO of Annapolis Foods, where he completed a one-year overhaul in its retail, restaurant and food service operations and wholesale distribution. A graduate of Cornell University, Keith's experience spans restaurant, hotel, retail, and entertainment operations, including five years at Starbucks Coffee Company in roles from District Manager to General Manager of Starbucks Entertainment.

ABOUT CAPITAL TEAS
Founded in Annapolis, MD in 2007 by Peter and Manelle Martino, Capital Teas is a leading tea provider steeped in rich history. Manelle Martino is the fifth consecutive generation of her family involved in the tea trade, which began when her great-great-grandfather, Francis Van Reyk, immigrated to Sri Lanka in 1870 to plant and oversee some of the very first Ceylon tea estates. Capital Teas will own and operate 12 locations in 4 states by the end of 2014.

SOURCE Capital Teas