00:00:00MANY: My name's Bob Many. And as a student in Dr. Fernheimer's Bourbon Oral
History Course in the spring of twenty twenty-one, I'm conducting this interview
as part of my work for that class and the Women in Bourbon Oral History Project.
Today is April twenty-first, twenty twenty-one and it's my great honor, uh, to
be interviewing Ingrid Gentry, using TheirStory, and she's based in Bardstown,
Kentucky. So, Ingrid, thank you so much for joining me, I really appreciate it.
And thank you for being available to do this.
GENTRY: Thank you Bob. I'm looking forward to it.
MANY: So, um, just kind of as a start, you started in your role at Bardstown,
uh, just before the start of COVID-19 pandemic. How are you doing as you've gone
through this interesting year and an interesting time?
GENTRY: Well, it has been interesting. I guess maybe one of the interesting
things about life in COVID in the distillery industry is that not a
00:01:00lot changed, to be honest, at least not at our company. So, uh, the bulk of our
business, you may know, is, uh, we produce whiskey for other companies. And
those folks are laying down barrels for whiskeys that they're going to bottle
and sell in, you know, four to six years or longer. And so they're not--they
were never thinking about this year. They were always thinking about six years
from now. Um, so, we've actually been running full steam throughout. And, I
should say, uh, it was easy for us to keep everybody here safe because a
distillery doesn't require people to be right next to each other. Um, so we're
able to operate the stills and the fermenters and everything, um, and keep
people apart and safe, so. Uh, so nothing changed. We were running full out. We
were completely sold out as a distillery. I believe we're sold out already for
this year. We might have a small amount of open capacity, but nothing
00:02:00really changed. And then a small amount of our capacity is for production of our
own brands. Um, and, uh, you know, just by accident, actually, most of our
distribution for our own brands is in the off premise, so in stores, which saw a
huge uptick in sales. At first we thought maybe we wouldn't be the beneficiary
of that because if you think about having to pull up in front of a, um, sort of
a drive-by, uh, spirit shopping experience, you probably would expect to see
people buy, you know, tried and true things and not really experiment very much.
And, you know, we're not a very big brand so not many people know us. But as
things went on, we actually have found ourselves, uh, with demand outstripping
supply. So, thank goodness, we have a bottling house that's being, um, completed
as I speak because right now, we can only sell as much as we can bottle.
(laughs) And--which is a good spot to be in.
00:03:00
MANY: It's great
GENTRY: So, I got to say fifteen months in, uh, it's been exciting, a lot of
growth, great team, and, uh, and a very good time for us.
MANY: That's great, that's great. So I'll transition to the formal
introductions--for you to provide everyone a formal introduction. So, if you
wouldn't mind, just, your name at birth, and then where and when you were born.
GENTRY: So, um, I was born Ingrid Maria Kinkaid in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Um, and, yeah. So--
MANY: --okay--
GENTRY: --I don't know if you want me to spell any of those, but--
MANY: No, no, no, no. That's great, that's great. Uh, and, tell me a little
bit about your family background.
GENTRY: Well, um, there are lots of more detailed questions about that, but,
um--so, my family background is, um, I was born in Charlotte to
00:04:00Vivian Kinkaid and Bill Kinkaid. And I had a brother and a sister. Um, grew up
in a suburban neighborhood, lots of kids around, running around all over the
place, little creek nearby. Got into plenty of trouble there. Um, my parent's
divorced when I was twelve and remarried--my dad remarried and then I got four
stepbrothers and sisters, so I had a Brady Bunch family and a pretty doggone
happy child I'd say.
MANY: That's awesome, awesome. And, and, uh, you mentioned Vivian and Bill
were your parent's names, and occupations and were they born in the Charlotte as well?
GENTRY: Yeah, so my dad was born in Gastonia, North Carolina which is just
south. It's right on the border of South Carolina.
MANY: Okay.
GENTRY: Um, just south of Charlotte, down eighty-five. Um, and he, uh, was a
salesman. He had a little company, he and a partner. He was a food
00:05:00broker. So he would act as a sales force for, uh, food brands, um, national food
brands, who didn't want to have their own sales force. And he just sold that
business a few years ago when he was, uh, eighty, and they gave--(laughs)--him a
five-year contract and he said, "Who gives a five-year contract to an
eighty-year-old man?" But anyway, so. Yeah, successful, you know, helped raise
all those kids. My mother, Vivian, is, um--she was a homemaker until I went
to--I was the baby. And so when I went to kindergarten, she first volunteered at
my kindergarten and then, um, she went back to school and ultimately became a
librarian and a teacher. And then she retired a few years ago. Um, so, yeah.
Salesman, English Teacher.
MANY: There you go. And they're, they're both, um, happy and healthy today and
are--do they living in the Carolinas now?--
00:06:00
GENTRY: --well I should have said, yes. My dad lives in Charlotte still. As I
said, he remarried, so my stepmother Bert, um, she has been a homemaker most of
her life. Um, so they live together still in Charlotte. My dad just turned
ninety a few weeks ago. My mother has moved here to Louisville area. She's also
about to turn ninety in another week. Um, and yeah, they're both healthy and
happy and chugging right along. They're making ninety look pretty easy, I got to say.
MANY: I--sounds like it, holy cow. I can only hope that, uh, we can all get
there. That's something. (both laugh) Um, and, um, were your parents, um, born
and raised in the United States or did they immigrate or did your family immigrate--
GENTRY: --oh you're right, yes. So as I said my dad was born in Gastonia, my
mother is Dutch. So, she grew up, um, during the war, World War II, in Holland.
Um, first in the-- she lived in the northern part of the country, and
00:07:00then moved to Amsterdam when, uh, the German's invaded. So, uh, she--you know,
the--I guess the allies freed Amsterdam when she was living--when, just the day
before her thirteenth birthday. So, uh, quite an impact on her. And her family,
like many Dutch families, had an experience of, um, of, um, sheltering refugees,
mostly, um, Jewish folks, who were worried, with good reason. Um, but she met my
dad when he was stationed in Germany with the army. And he was on vacation in
Holland and, um, I guess they met at a bar. I don't think they ever told my
grandmother that. (laughs) And she moved--they married and moved back to
Gastonia in the early fifties. Um, so yeah, so they, they were married there.
They--or sorry married in Germany, moved back. Um, I have an older
00:08:00sister and brother. They were both born in Gastonia. And then I came along when
my family moved to Charlotte.
MANY: Nice, nice. And did your--did mother ever tell you any stories of
harboring any of the refugees? Uh, especially some of the--
GENTRY: --yes. Yes actually, um, the, the main, the main person that they, um,
sheltered was a man who lost his whole family--his wife and his parents and
siblings. Um, but he later married my aunt so, um, my mother's sister--
MANY: --wow--
GENTRY: --so he was in fact my uncle and his claim to fame is that he was
knighted in Holland for his organ playing. He was a very--he was an expert
organist and recorded many albums, so, there you go, so--
MANY: --wow--
GENTRY: --yes, yeah. But yes, she also has some, some pretty terrible stories
about, you know, um, kids kind of being sent out around town. When
00:09:00the Germans would come to round up able-bodied men to draft into the army, the
kids would be sent around to warn people to hide. Um, and then she also has a
scar on the back of her leg from a incident in which, uh, there were executions
in one of the squares in town and, uh, you know, she happened to be in the
square and after the executions the soldiers started just shooting into the crowd--
MANY: --oh my goodness--
GENTRY: --indiscriminately, so. Those are, you know, I think probably tame
compared to what Holocaust survivors might tell but it certainly, uh, left an
impression on her and, uh, is as much as she wanted to ever share with anyone
else. Those are--I think I've told you all the stories I know, actually. (laughs)
MANY: Yeah, yeah. It's--sometimes those stories are, stay private, so.
GENTRY: Yep, yeah.
MANY: Well, we've touched a little bit--
GENTRY: --but she--
MANY: --go ahead, go ahead.
GENTRY: I was just going to say, she's, um, she's a very--she values, um,
education and, um, I think--and she's very independent and I think
00:10:00that her upbringing probably, uh, contributed to that. And I feel like, uh,
those are some of the things that she passed along to me. So, I'm grateful for,
you know, her passing those things down in a positive way despite having
experienced them in a negative way.
MANY: That's sometimes the best. To make a good thing out of a negative is
always a great way to pass on great learnings.
GENTRY: Yeah.
MANY: I want--let's, uh--talked a little bit about your family, thank you.
Let's shift gears a little bit to your childhood if you don't mind.
GENTRY: Sure.
MANY: Tell me a little bit about your--you said you had a very happy, normal
childhood growing up in Charlotte but tell me a little bit about, um, growing up there.
GENTRY: Yeah, so Charlotte, um, is, is a quite big city now, at the time that
I was growing up it was maybe half a million people. So, not, not really even--I
mean, maybe a big town, more than a city. Um, so I grew up, um,
00:11:00when--as I think about, uh, my childhood up until the age of like--until my
teens, um, we lived in a neighborhood with a ton of kids and like I said, I, I
can only remember being outside. Like--I think, I think our parents all pushed
us outside--
MANY: -um-hm--
GENTRY: --in the mornings--
MANY: -um-hm--
GENTRY: --and said don't come back until dinner--
MANY: -um-hm--
GENTRY: Um, so, I just remember running around. We had a--we built a treehouse
in a tree at the end of a dead-end street and we had a creek nearby. We used to
turn over rocks and find crawdads and, um, played football in the front yard and
hide and seek at night in the summer. Um, so, you know, those are--I, you know,
I--not bad memories. (laughs) They're really quite good. And then when my
parent's divorced, my mom--uh, I went to live with my mom and my sister was
already out of the house and my brother went to live with my dad. So, um, I, I,
the--that period--after that, um, I had a kind of a--an, I feel like,
00:12:00also ideal childhood. I mean it wasn't great to have divorced parents, but a lot
of people I knew had divorced parents so that wasn't that unusual. And also, um,
uh, during the week, I was an only child and I had all the attention, and on the
weekends I was one of seven and I had, you know, all of these brothers and
sisters to do stuff with. So, it was, I felt like, perfect. So, um, I've always
been good in school, um. And having the week at home with my mom meant that I
had plenty of time to myself. I guess I'm a kind of a extrovert but I'm also
like right on the line. Like I actually get energy from time alone. And so it
was kind of a perfectly nurturing situation for me to have lots of time at home
to do the things that I wanted to do which included learning. Um, and then--but
also have access to lots of people on the weekends and lots of
00:13:00playtime and fun. Um, so yeah, I really--I don't know how normal it is. I guess
everybody feels like their childhood is normal. Um, but it certainly was happy.
MANY: That's awesome, that's awesome. Tell me a little bit about the schools
you went to in growing up, the elementary school, middle school, high school.
Tell me a little bit about those.
GENTRY: Yeah, so I went to public schools, um, all through, uh, K through
twelve, um, and for, uh, first grade through fifth grade, well actually
throughout my school career, um, the school system in Charlotte had created a
new, um, a new approach to teaching. I guess it was a sort of a magnet school
before there were magnet, magnet schools.
MANY: Cool.
GENTRY: So it was a, um, it--the, the idea behind it was, um, that you gave
kids more independence, um, and control in their own learning environment. So,
from an early age, beginning in first grade--
00:14:00
MANY: --wow--
GENTRY: --I was in this open system. And so, uh, you would sit down as a
student with your teacher at the beginning of each week and you would have a
contract that would say all the things that you needed to get done during the
week, and then there were centers, uh, learning centers, around the room and at
your own pace, you would move from center to center and complete the work that
you had committed to. And you can't believe that a first grader would be able to
do--(laughs)--such a thing, but it worked just fine. And, um, it was perfect for
me. It was not so great for my brother who started it in fourth grade who was
not as interested in school maybe. Um, but I loved it. (laughs) Um, I kind of
call it--my mom is, you know, a little bit of a hippie I'd say, and, uh, it's
kind of a hippie education, but, um, it was, it was fantastic for me. So, the,
the result of that kind of thing is that, you know, a kid who is--who likes
school, who really wants to learn or, you know, is just motivated for
00:15:00whatever reason, can go as fast as they want. So I, I was very quickly above
reading and math levels in, you know, in all of my classes. Um, so, I don't say
that as a brag, I'm just saying--
MANY: --oh yeah, it's awesome--
GENTRY: --you know, for a natural learner, it was, it was paradise. So, that
was--it gets a little trickier in middle school and high school, um, but all of
the schools that I went to had that kind of, um, flare, let's say. So sort of a
Montessori-type approach, maybe.
MANY: Um-hm. Um-hm.
GENTRY: Um, but we did have organized classes, um, in middle school and high
school and then, um, so. I went to--the name of my school was Irwin Elementary
School in Charlotte, that was the elementary school. And then, uh, middle school
was Piedmont Middle and then at--for high school I went to West Charlotte. And
one thing I'd like to mention about West Charlotte that's, I think, really
special, is, um, so, uh, bussing actually, uh, began in Charlotte, North
Carolina, uh, due to a, um, uh, legal ruling, a case that happened in
00:16:00North Carolina. And so my school had been a historically black high school. Um,
so when bussing started, there were--it didn't go smoothly, uh, at least not
everywhere. But it went very smoothly at my school. I was not there at the time.
I was a little behind that, but, um. But I'm very proud to say that, um, the
school that started as a historically black one welcomed the whites students--I
don't know if welcomed, but it was a--it was a smooth transition to welcome the
white students into the school and, um, it, it felt, it felt reasonably
integrated when I was there, so, proud of that.
MANY: So, what, what do you think the, um, teachers, administrators and
students who were there at the time did to, to, make a positive impact because
at the time, there were a lot of schools that were going through that that
didn't work so well.
00:17:00
GENTRY: Yeah. I can't guess because I wasn't there, but if I, if I had to
guess, I would say that, um, that the Black community probably expected
integration to be good for their kids--
MANY: --yeah--
GENTRY: --and welcomed it, whereas the white community maybe didn't have as
generous an interpretation and didn't welcome it, so. That, that is just my
guess. I don't know.
MANY: That's cool, that's great. Um, so, when you were growing up, what was it
that, you know, you wanted to be? What was the one thing you said I want to be
this when I grow up?
GENTRY: I didn't have such a thing. (both laugh) I'm a little
bit--(laughs)--yeah, I'm a little bit of an opportunist. I mean I just love
learning at all, so. Um, I've always been a kind of a generalist. And my parents
were great about, you know, encouraging anything that any of us tried to do. You
know, if we liked doing it, they encouraged us to do more of it. So I spent a
lot of my time--um, I learned to play the viola in fifth grade and I
00:18:00was in the youth orchestra and I played all through college and after. (laughs)
I haven't played much in many years now but, um, but yeah. I mean I--but I never
really thought I was going to grow up to do that for a living. Um, I guess there
was a time when I thought maybe I'd want to be a doctor, maybe when I was
looking at college. But I didn't--I wasn't super hooked on that. Um, and so
I--when it was time to declare a major, it didn't even enter my mind. Um, so,
you know, I can't say that there was any one thing, but, um, uh, maybe that's
the point is that really, the thing--a key thing about me, um, all through my
life, is just a high level of curiosity in all different areas. And I think,
actually, and we can talk about it later, but I think one of the great values
that I bring in business is that I do have a lot of varied interests and I see
patterns across things. And it gives me--I, I have a way of, um,
00:19:00looking across--find, finding opportunities because I can integrate different,
um, um, patterns to see where, where we can find growth, I guess, if I--
MANY: --hmm, yeah, we will definitely explore that because that sounds to be,
um, uh, a very powerful capability in, in--certainly the role you're in and the
roles you've been in in the past.
GENTRY: Um-hm.
MANY: Yeah. Um--
GENTRY: --yeah--
MANY: --moving on past high school--
GENTRY: --yeah. Yeah--
MANY: --you then, um--you were up in, you know, Charlotte, then you decided to
go--move on to college and, um, you studied at Wake Forest as I understand.
Great school, wonderful school.
GENTRY: Yeah. I actually--one, one quick thing before that. Um, so my senior
year, I left high school early to go--as an exchange student to Germany. So, I
spent one year--
MANY: --oh wow--
GENTRY: --in Germany, um, for my senior year. Yeah. So I went to Siegen which
is a little town. Um, well at the time, it was smack in the middle of
00:20:00West Germany. Now it would be--I, I guess the best way to say it if you know
Germany is, um, it's, uh--if, if you started in Frankfurt, in Frankfurt and
Cologne and--(laughs)--met at the angle, you would be in Siegen. Um, so yeah, I
had a great experience there, lived with a family. Um, learned to speak German
which I've subsequently forgotten almost entirely. (both laugh) And, um, but
again, you know, it's a sort of an independent streak of mine and I was just
delighted to go, um, overseas and meet new people, see new places, um, learn a
new language. Um, but it was a great experience. I guess, you know, actually I
was just thinking the other day about, um, I took a class in computer
programming. That was a thing they taught in high school at the time. Um, and,
uh, I think I was learning like cobalt, if you remember that.
00:21:00
MANY: Um-hm. Um-hm. Oh, I do I taught it! Yeah. (laughs)
GENTRY: Yeah. Oh good, yeah. (laughs) Well, let me just tell you, it's not
easy to learn it in German when you're an English speaker.
MANY: Oh no.
GENTRY: (laughs) And you don't know anything about computer programming. So,
uh, you know, but most of my memories, um, are of my family there and of, um,
you know, getting to visit different parts of the country and, and, and really,
you know, learning the culture and the language, so. So, when I went to look at
colleges, um, I, I had only found out about this exchange program, um, about
midway through my, uh, junior year. Back then--I mean my kids, boy, we started
looking at colleges when they were freshmen.
MANY: Yeah. Yep.
GENTRY: Back then, we didn't really think about it until--
MANY: --um-hm--
GENTRY: --you know, end of junior year, if you're lucky.
MANY: If you're lucky--
GENTRY: --um, so, so I found out I was going overseas, and, um, I don't know I
just had in my head, I lived in North Carolina, there were so many great
schools, why did I need to go anywhere else. So, I sent a letter to,
00:22:00uh, um, University of North Carolina, we call it just Chapel Hill--
MANY: --yeah--
GENTRY: --um, Duke and Wake Forest and, um, told them that I was going
overseas and wouldn't be, uh, in the country for the normal application cycle
and what did they suggest. And I got some very, um, like generic responses from
Duke and Chapel Hill, but Wake sent--I got from Wake, I got a, um, handwritten
note from the, uh, the Dean of Students, um, or actually the head of the
scholarship, um, um, department, and--inviting me to come interview. And asking
if I'd like to apply for a scholarship. And giving me all the information I
needed to do all those things. So, um, before I was--left the country, I was
able to apply and, um, was admitted and, um, and then later, uh, and then later
was awarded a scholarship, so--
00:23:00
MANY: --holy cow--
GENTRY: --um, it was a very easy decision. I mean I felt like, right at home,
right away. Um, when I went on campus, felt like I was where I was supposed to
be. And, uh, yeah, so that's how I picked Wake--
MANY: --well that's fantastic--
GENTRY: --I should also say that--I mean, not knowing any better, it was the
right thing for me to pick a liberal arts college, right, because again, um, I
just really enjoy learning lots of different things. And, and then not only was
it a liberal arts college, but it has a very well-known business program--
MANY: --right, right--
GENTRY: --but it is just a basic--I mean it's not, not basic, it's a generic
business program. So there was a business major, and an accounting major. Um,
and I, um, so I, I had the first two years like everybody else at the school,
um, with a huge number of requirements that makes students take all different
disciplines and loved it. That was terrific. Um, and then when, uh,
00:24:00it came time to declare majors, um, in our--at the end of our sophomore year,
uh, I don't know, somebody said business was the hardest major so of course
that's the one I had to do. (both laugh) Because, I'm a tad competitive also.
(both laugh)
MANY: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
GENTRY: Yeah. So, yeah--
MANY: --but--
GENTRY: --that's how I picked that one.
MANY: Yeah, yeah. So you were admitted essentially before you left for Germany
your senior year.
GENTRY: Uh, it was around the time that I--like I don't remember the exact timing--
MANY: --that's fantastic--
GENTRY: --but it was something like that, yeah. Yeah. And the--just the
requirement was that I had to take the SAT while I was in Germany because I
hadn't had a chance to--well I'd taken one, taken it once and they wanted me to
take it again, um, to see if there was a different outcome. So--(laughs)--to--I
had to study, you know, had the SAT, right. Half of it is English--so,
uh--(laughs)--so my German family, this is just a testament to what
00:25:00wonderful people they are. So, uh, they, they could see that I needed to learn
all these, uh, vocabulary words--
MANY: --um-hm. Um-hm--
GENTRY: --uh, and so my mother, she--(laughs)--she said well I know the
perfect way to do that. She put--she created a list of them and posted them
across from the toilet so every time I sat--(laughs)--down to use the bathroom,
(both laugh) it was just, was right in front of me so I could learn some more words.
MANY: --oh--
GENTRY: --so, yeah. And then actually that was a really kind of a neat
experience. In order to take the test, I had to go to Frankfurt, um, to the, um,
army base because they had a high school on campus. And--it was a huge, huge
army campus--
MANY: --yes--
GENTRY: --or military base, um. And so I got a chance to meet a bunch of, um,
American kids on base, uh, while I was taking this test. And it was such a
weird, it was such a weird situation because I'd been speaking German and living
in a German family for a few months by that point, uh, and then
00:26:00suddenly walk on this military base and it was like being in America, and it was
just a huge--it was a crazy kind of juxtaposition so, anyway. That was a--that
was fun, that was fun.
MANY: Yeah, it sounds--
GENTRY: --but yeah, so I ended up at Wake Forest and they offered me a
scholarship which was great because even though my dad had his own little
business it was a very modest business and I wouldn't have been able to go there
had I not had, um, some help from the school, so. That was perfect.
MANY: That's fantastic. And, and while you were at school, other than studying
business and you-- and studying the other types of academia, were there any
other things you were involved in? Any other activities, groups?
GENTRY: Yeah, I, um, I played in the orchestra and, uh, played on a club
soccer team and, um, course I had, uh, girlfriends, you know, in my suite that I
did a lot of stuff with. Um, and then I was, uh--I, I, I became part
00:27:00of this group, um, the President's Aides. Um, we were a group selected by the
president to, uh, represent students at events. So like if the trustees came to
town, we'd be invited to, you know, cocktail parties just to mingle and let the
trustees see what it was they were trying to--(laughs)--who they were trying to help--
MANY: --that's right--
GENTRY: --so, yeah. Yeah. So, that's, that's--but, you know, I also, uh, I
also studied a lot. I mean, let's face it, it's not an easy school. So, um, yeah
I spent a lot of time in the library. My husband Louis happened to also go to
Wake Forest although we didn't really know each other there and we laugh a lot
about why we never met each other, it's because I was always in the library
studying and he was always not in the library studying. (both laugh)
MANY: I was just going to say, I mean maybe he was off enjoying (Gentry
laughs) whatever, yeah, yeah.
GENTRY: That's right, that's right, yeah.
MANY: That's funny, um, so, um, after college, you graduated I
00:28:00think I can see--from your resume, in nineteen eighty-nine, is that correct?
GENTRY: That's right, in nineteen eighty-nine graduated. Um, uh, maybe, maybe
something interesting to know is that--
MANY: --yes--
GENTRY: --um, at the end of graduation, at--after graduation, I went--so the
school had--like many schools, had the--a sponsored trip, um, for an
international experience. And so I went with a group from the business school
overseas and we went to, um, Japan, China and Hong Kong.
MANY: Oh fantastic--
GENTRY: --and so, yeah. It was a really cool experience and, um, it was, it
was structured so that we had lots of time to, um, to just, you, you know, see
the cities where we were and, you know, experience those cultures, but also
visit with, um, businesses in each place. Um, so we went to Japan first, to
Tokyo, that was really cool. Never seen anything like it. Japan's an incredible
place. And luckily I had a chance to go back there, um, while I was
00:29:00working for Brown-Forman. Um, but, um, so Japan first, and then as we were in
Japan, uh, there were groups of people gathering in Beijing, um, in Tiananmen Square--
MANY: --oh yeah--
GENTRY: --protesting. By the time we got to China, uh, they were--seemed like
they were starting to disperse, um, so we were allowed to continue to Beijing,
but when we got to Beijing, that was the night of the Tiananmen Square Massacre.
MANY: --oh--
GENTRY: And actually, um, one of the other guys on the trip with me, um, he
actually was, uh, working towards being a journalist and he had contacts with
some of the national, US national, news agencies, and he and I ventured down to
the square and--
MANY: --oh my goodness--
GENTRY: --met at a hotel where we had to take cover. So we wound up at a
hotel, um, very near the square. I never actually saw the square when all that
was going on, but, um, we did meet lots of journalists who were
00:30:00coming in and out all night, um, covering the story. So, um, I was not
responsible for what happened, but I was there when it happened, so, um--
MANY: --that's amazing. What, what--
GENTRY: --yeah--
MANY: --what a personal historical moment for you to be there--
GENTRY: --it was quite something. I mean, and, and terrifying, of course, and--
MANY: --of course--
GENTRY: --um, but, as terrifying as it was, we were still young and stupid and
so when a CBS affiliate asked if we would carry some tapes with us when we went
to Hong Kong the next morning we said sure because we didn't--(laughs)--know any
better. And luckily, uh when--we were able to meet up with our group, because we
had gotten separated, we met up with our group at the airport and the Chinese,
um, officials were just trying to get everybody out of town. So--
MANY: --yeah--
GENTRY: --they didn't, you know, it, and it was way before the checks that you
go through now anyway with, um, security checks at airports. So nobody
discovered, thank goodness, those tapes and, um, when we arrived in
00:31:00Hong Kong, they were delivered and, um, I don't take any credit for this, mu,
my, my friend Tim did the whole thing. But, um, apparently that was something
like seventy percent of the footage that made it out of the country so--
MANY: --oh my goodness--
GENTRY: --um, yeah. It was quite--(laughs)--quite a thing, quite a thing.
Yeah. And in, in hindsight, to think of my kids doing something like that, it
takes my breath away. (both laugh)
MANY: Yeah. Wow. Wow. What a, what a series of events you just happened to be there--
GENTRY: --I know, we just walked into it--
MANY: --wow--
GENTRY: --yes, it was, it was incredible, yeah.
MANY: Well, that's amazing. It's, uh--you get home from that, it's kind of
tough just to go back to normal life, huh?
GENTRY: Well, yeah, I--yes and no. I mean, I don't know. It's sort of a--maybe
it's a little bit like a honeymoon. If you're, if you're--you experience that
thing, and then you get on a plane and you fly halfway around the world
to get home, by the time you get home, it's like it's so distant, um,
00:32:00that it--it's not that hard to put it aside. Or at least it didn't--now in
hindsight, uh, it doesn't feel like it was that hard--
MANY: --that's interesting--
GENTRY: --so I returned home and, um--well, then I guess, um, I should say as
I was, uh, as I was getting ready to graduate, I started--I was of course
thinking about what I wanted to do for a living. And, I'd actually been
interested, in my business studies, in, um, in marketing research. That was kind
of where my head was. Um, but those jobs--uh, uh, I tried to, you know,
interview with some, some, places off campus that were--that do that for a
living and, um, those jobs typically were going to graduate school students at
the time. So, um, I couldn't even get a job mopping a floor at a marketing
research firm, so. Um, so, I started interviewing with the folks who
00:33:00were coming on campus and, most, mostly those were banks. Um, and ended up
taking a job with First Union in Charlotte, um, out of school, so. Um, yeah, so,
in, in the end, it turns out that, uh, being a commercial lender is, uh, is
actually pretty well suited to my personality because you're basically selling
money so, you got to be analytical, but you've also got to be a people person,
and, um, and I was lucky enough to be selected to go into what they, at the
time, called specialized industries. So, um, I was lending to corporations, but
I was lending to leasing companies, specifically--
MANY: --interesting--
GENTRY: --and, uh, it was super interesting. I, I had no idea it would be that
interesting. Um, but we, um--it, it was at the beginning of the time when, um,
when banks were starting to securitize, uh, securitize leases and
00:34:00then lend against them--
MANY: --um-hm--
GENTRY: --so we would take all these leases, put them in a big pile, and then
sell, um, units of the lease income to investors. It's not unlike, uh, what
brought the economy down--
MANY: --I was just thinking the same thing--
GENTRY: --in 2008--(both laugh)--uh, but the difference is that, you know,
you, you, you had a credit rating for every lease that went into this pile. Um,
and, you know, you could rank them from best to worst credits and, you, you, you
can decide how risky the thing is for investors by where you stop the--how much
you borrow. So if you only borrow to here, it's super good. If you want to
borrow all the way down to there, and then suddenly it becomes risky, so.
Anyway, um, the--those were completely new instruments in the banking industry
at the time and so it was a great place to learn about, um, treasury
00:35:00functions and leasing, lending, all those things. Um, and again, I mean I really
hadn't thought about banking as a career and so, uh, I was delighted to find
that I was--I, I kind of liked it. And it suited me, so, um. So I stayed at
First Union for about three years and I don't know, somehow--I have a friend who
has a theory about this which is that our school system teaches us that we're
supposed to change our lives entirely every four years. (Many laughs)
So--(laughs)--and maybe she's right about that, but, uh, around the three-year
mark, uh, I kind of--I was looking around and I realized that my boss was in his
early thirties and his boss was in his mid-thirties and then his boss was the
president of the bank, and I kind of wondered, you know, what is here for me.
Like, how am I--what, you know, am I going to do this same thing for
00:36:00fifteen years, uh, and it suddenly, that sort of dulled it for me, I got to say.
So, I decided to go back to graduate school. And, um, and you know, I had--I
thought, well, if I'm going to back to get an MBA, then I want to go, uh, a
place that's--that suits me. Um, but also, you know, I want to go to as good a
place as I can go. So I applied to, um, I applied to Kellogg and I applied to
Harvard and I was, was admitted to both and I picked Kellogg because, um, I was
able to go into the four quarter program. So, um, at Kellogg there's a program
where if you have a business undergraduate degree, and it wasn't more than five
years ago, you can come start in the summer and go for four quarters straight
instead of the normal course which is, uh, three quarters, um, over a fall,
winter, spring and then an internship and then another three
00:37:00quarters. So, um, your payment shrinks from six quarters to four quarters and
you're--and I'm also a cheapskate, by the way--(Many laughs)--and your time away
from working is one year instead of two, so, uh. And, um, even though I am a
competitive person, I'm also, I'm also--I don't know if this is diametrically
opposed, but I'm also very interested in being a team player and, um, just
comparing the culture, at least as I understood it, at Kellogg versus at
Harvard, I felt like Kellogg was going to be a far better fit for me. So, not a
classic finance school at all. Um, but, uh, I did, I did study finance. I
studied strategy there. Um loved it, loved the people I met there. Um, some of
my best friends, uh, I met there. And, um, yeah, it was--it worked out really
well. Um, I guess the thing to know about Kellogg is that it's, um,
00:38:00very team oriented. Like that's kind of its thing--
MANY: --you betcha--
GENTRY: --is always putting people together in teams and having to work stuff
out. And it was so interesting to me because, um, in college, when you work on a
team--or at least in my experience in college, and before when you work on
teams, there's a lot of shirking--(laughs)--that goes on--
MANY: --yeah--
GENTRY: --and one person or two people end up doing everything for everybody.
MANY: Um-hmGENTRY: Um, there's almost no other way to do it because, you
know, it's, you know, it's just harder to get organized. In graduate school,
everybody wants to do everything and be in control and so it's a fight
about--(both laugh)--who's going to get to control the outcome of the thing. So,
um, it was a great learning experience and, um, Kellogg, and maybe most of the,
um, most--many graduate schools, I think, have a high international component.
It was something like thirty percent at Kellogg. Um, so there was
00:39:00also a terrific exposure to folks, um, from all over the world, um, who brought
their own, you know, way of doing things to the school, so. Sometimes that's
good and sometimes it's a little crazy but, um, but that was a cool part of it
too, so. (laughs) By the end, I literally was looking for classes that didn't
have teams. (both laugh) It was, it was a little much.
MANY: Let me do it!
GENTRY: (laughs) Yeah, it was a little much, but, um, but a great, a great way
to really learn how to do business because, I mean, I, I--of course I learned
things from my teachers, of course I did. But I learned double that from, from
my classmates and from working with my classmates, just about myself and what I
need to, you know, how I work best in groups and teams, and, and then also
about, you know, how to, boy, how to get people to agree to stuff,
00:40:00uh, that they don't want to do. (laughs) Strongly opinionated people. Um, so,
yeah, it was a really--that was a terrific experience too.
MANY: Alright, you know as I listen to your story thus far, all the way
starting in first grade through your senior trip in high school through your
trip over to the Far East and Europe through your experience, in, in, in
Northwestern, it almost fits perfectly with getting to Brown-Forman and your,
your path at Brown-Forman almost like you planned all those things starting in
first grade to get you into--(Gentry laughs)--those kinds of roles at
Brown-Forman. It's, it's kind of amazing--
GENTRY: Maybe, I mean I didn't do that on purpose, honestly. I mean I--so I, I
left, again, you know competitive--being a competitive person, people were like,
oh, investment banking, man that's the hardest thing there is. So, when I left
Kellogg, I went to investment banking because it was the hardest--
MANY: --yup--
GENTRY: --of course, and, um, I actually--I had an opportunity to go
to Morgan Stanley in New York, um, but then I interviewed with this
00:41:00little company in my hometown. Never in a million years expected to go back
there. Um, but it was a middle-market investment bank called Bowles Hollowell
Conner, it doesn't exist anymore. Actually, First Union doesn't either. They
both are owned by--they've been absorbed into what's now Wells Fargo. Um, but,
um, yeah, it was just a chance to--I, I guess my thinking was, at Morgan Stanley
I would be working with corporations that had all of their own smart people who
probably, you know, didn't really need investment bankers. They, they, just, you
know, uh, they could, they could do the work themselves if they chose to do
that. Or, I could go work with this middle-market group and have customers that
really did need some advice and some help and, um, and so I chose the latter.
And, um, and you--in the end, well, in the end investment banking
00:42:00didn't suit me but it's an incredible training ground because, um, you know,
the--first of all the work never stops. I mean I, I, I spent so many hours at
work that the night watchman invited me to his wedding. I mean it was terrible.
(both laugh) That part was terrible. But, um, the customers that I had mostly
were, um, small, small management,--uh, or, sorry, small groups that were owned
by private equity firms. And, uh, the firm--the private equity firms probably
bought them and then they didn't grow enough to become IPO candidates. And so
they would come to us to, to sell them and generally we would sell to other IPO,
or other private equity firms or occasionally a strategic buyer. Um, but so
these were--I, I would end up working with management teams to write a
descriptive memo about their business, um, so that we could have something to
share with, uh, potential buyers. And, um, they were, they--that's
00:43:00not their deal. Like that's not what they do. They don't sell businesses. They
run a business. And so, uh, selfishly, it was wonderful for me because I got to
learn about industries that I would have never come in contact with. I had, I
had a run of like plastic injection molding companies. That was kind of weird.
And then, um, one, um, company that runs FBOs, you know, little, um, um,
mechanic shops for small airports. Um, you know, all over the board. Um, and,
you know, there was a lot of handholding with management teams who, you know,
their, their life's work was going up on the selling block and, you know, they
were worried about their jobs and they were worried about their people and it
was fantastic. I loved, I loved my customers, uh, when I was there. So, but, um,
uh, I met, I met my husband in Charlotte--I was back in Charlotte and
00:44:00I met my husband while I was there and, um, once I was married, uh, that
lifestyle just was not sustainable anymore. I had a friend there who said, every
day we make a decision whether to come in to work or not. (laughs) Whether it's
worth it. It's great money, um, but one day you'll wake up and it's not worth
it. And yeah. So I hit that, I hit that spot. Um, and I also, I guess, started
to feel like, you know, I'm doing--all of this work that I'm doing, it's kind
of, it's--it just evaporates. Like you're not really building anything. You're
always the agent for somebody who's building, so. Um, so, uh, when I decided I
wanted to leave, my husband said, "Perfect, why don't we try to get closer to my
home?" So he grew up here in Bardstown, Kentucky and, um, so I started looking
for, uh, something to do near Bardstown. And we looked in Nashville
00:45:00and Louisville, um, talked about Cincinnati. And, um, and having seen many, many
different kinds of businesses with--you know, and you could be successful at all
of them, um, I kind of--so, I had this experience in investment banking. I
worked at--one of my clients was a company that makes insulated windows,
actually not even insulated windows, they made the little metal parts that go
between two pieces of glass to make insulated windows--
MANY: --hmm--
GENTRY: --And, muntin is the name of that piece. And, uh, and so, I remember
thinking, I want to be able to describe what I do in like less than a sentence.
So, I don't want--(laughs)--I want to go work for a muntin company and tell
people I work for a company that makes the piece that goes between two pieces of
glass. Um, and that kind of took me to consumer products. Um, so, uh, so when I
found Brown-Forman, uh, and in the industry, um, Grand Metropolitan
00:46:00and Guinness had just merged to form Diageo--
MANY: --um-hm--
GENTRY: --um, and there were going to be some, um, brands sold out of that
merger. And Brown-Forman was interested in that and so beefing up its corporate
development group--
MANY: --oh, perfect--
GENTRY: --um, it was perfect timing. And so they hired me to come on, um, and,
and help, help buy brands for Brown-Forman. So I spent nine years in that group,
um, first as just a, you know, junior employee. Um, actually with my first--the
first thing that I worked on there was, um, I worked with, uh, the Orendain
family in Mexico, they were producing, uh, a tequila with us. Um, and then, uh,
and the second one was this Diageo merger. They were selling, um, oh my gosh I
can't remember now, two brands, anyway, took me to Scotland, um,
00:47:00which was a fantastic--I mean. And then, then I was hooked--
MANY: --yeah--
GENTRY: --right, I was traveling around Scotland, uh, you know, walking in
distilleries and, um, and it was just a terrific experience. Unfortunately
Brown-Forman did not win that. It was--Bombay Sapphire was the gin and I'm sorry
I can't remember the scotch that was for sale. But, um, yeah, so we did not, we
did not end up buying them. But, um, that launched, uh, that launched a career
in corporate development at Brown-Forman. So like I said I was there for nine
years in corporate development group, first as sort of an underling and then,
um, for the last five years I was running the group. Um, so, I had--oh, it was
so much fun. I mean that may be the best job in the whole world, is, uh--here's,
here's what my job was. My job was to go visit with people who created amazing
brands and--basically their children, but for whatever reason they, they
wanted to get out of business. Often it was there was a family event
00:48:00or there was a, uh, you know, succession planning kind of play. Um, and so you'd
go sit down with them and have them tell you all about the love, their passion
for their brand that they'd created. I mean, we went to Italy and bought this
little brand called Tuaca--
MANY: --um-hm. I know it--
GENTRY: --two brothers, they'd inherited the business from their family--from
their father. Um, they had spent time in the US selling it and, you know,
building it up. Um, they, uh, well, they're Italian, so they were total foodies.
So, you know, you ate great every time you went to visit them. And, and it's so
funny too, I love about them that, you know, in business, a lot of times we will
use like sports metaphors or war metaphors, these guys use food metaphors.
They're like, "Ingrid, you don't get it. You can't start with bad olive oil. You
can't make anything good with that. You got, --(both laugh)--you got
00:49:00to always start with that." Anyway, so yeah so that was my job was to go, uh,
you know, meet, meet entrepreneurs with incredible brand stories and try to get
them to sell me their brand. Um, and I loved it. It was terrific. Um, so I did
that for a long time. Uh, but, again, uh, you know, still a little bit of an
agent, right. I mean I was helping build the company. I was--it was a very
strategic position, you know, to try to find brands that fit within the
Brown-Forman portfolio. But, um, but I also wanted to help--I wanted to run
something and so, uh, was offered an opportunity to go to Asia Pacific as a
finance director out there and jumped on it. Um, yeah, so I'd love to say there
was some plan in my career, but there really, really wasn't, so, um. And, and
actually, some of the people that I've admired the most, um, in terms
00:50:00of career progression, were folks who found ways to do different kinds of
things. I mean this kind of goes back to the same thing I was saying about
learning, I mean I just really enjoy, um, knowing about all kinds of different
things, so. Um, so I went to Asia Pacific. We were actually headquartered out of
Sydney, Australia at the time so, um, so I lived in Sydney. My family went with
me, of course. And, uh, we were there for about two and a half years. Um,
traveled extensively. I spent a lot of time, um--at the time we were doing, um,
a lot of route to consumer, so supply, um--sales, um, route to consumer work in
Japan and then Korea and China. And about halfway through India came into our
group. Um, and so I did a lot of work in, uh--about India, I didn't travel to
India very much, just a, a time or two. And then, um, yeah. So, two and a half
years there, and then I was offered the opportunity to flip out of
00:51:00finance and actually run a region as a general manager, so I moved to Prague and
I had, uh, twenty-one markets in my area. Um, so, I had, um, I think, five
salespeople, they happened to all be men, um--
MANY: --wow, interesting--
GENTRY: (laughs) --whose, whose regions, uh, reported to me. Um, and, uh, and I
had my own HR guy, and my own, uh, finance guy, and then some marketing folks to
help, uh, market it and I, I ran that region for about, um, two and a half
years, uh, before returning to, um--well, five years was about as long as
Brown-Forman wanted anybody to be out as an ex-pat. So, um, at the end of that
time in Prague, I came back to Louisville and worked for the Chief Operating
Officer as his Head of Strategy. Um, and that, that was very cool. It
00:52:00was only for a year, uh, but, um, at the time, Brown-Forman was--so Brown-Forman
had been exporting its product--the story of Brown-Forman's international growth
started with just sending cases to anybody who would agree to sell them. And
evolved to, you know, more and more control over the marketing and then sales.
And at the time that I moved back to the US, Brown-Forman was starting to, um,
um, build sales teams in markets. That was, that was kind of new. So, uh,
Germany, um, created its own sales force while I was in Europe. Um, got that up
and running. Uh, and then, uh--as soon--when--while I was back, France did the
same thing. The UK was starting to do its own. And so part of my
duties-- and, and my experience out in the field, in both Prague and
00:53:00in, um, Sydney, really prepared me for that because I had--I did a lot of work
in that area. So, um, part of my duties when I was in this, um, Head of Strategy
role was to create best practice sharing organization for all new market managers--
MANY: --hmm--
GENTRY: --because, you know, there weren't that many of them--
MANY: --no--
GENTRY: --um, in Brown-Forman at the time, and we didn't want people starting
from scratch. Um, there was a lot of knowledge in the company that, um, was able
to make, you know, some of the, um, subsequent company distributions--uh,
company changes, uh, a lot smoother. So, that was cool. And then while I was
doing that job, um, one of my early bosses at Brown-Forman, uh, became the CFO,
Don Berg, and, uh, he asked me to come back into the finance group as, uh, as
the--basically the head of FP&A. So I was the most senior finance person in the
company reporting to the CFO as my last job there.
00:54:00
MANY: So, uh, fascinating experiences. As a woman in both the Asian
marketplace and in the European marketplace leading a team that five men who
reported to you, what impacts or, how, how did that impact you or what did you
see or, uh, how did, people, people treat you--
how did that impact you or what did you see or, uh, how did, people, people
treat you--
GENTRY: --yeah. You know I've been thinking a lot about that. It's a
hard--it's hard to know, right, because I've never done it as a man. So I
can't--(both laugh)--tell you how it has been different. (laughs) I guess, one
thing that kind of strikes me, is that, um, just, it's a small thing, but, um,
so in the companies that I've worked for since then, the men that I work with
cuss around me. At Brown-Forman, I never heard a single person cuss. And I don't
believe that they don't cuss at Brown-Forman. (Many laughts) I mean it is a
little bit more a formal culture but, uh. I, so I, I think, um, I
00:55:00think there is a, sort of a, um, a difference to my womanhood--(laughs)--maybe
in that way. But, um, but in a lot of ways, I think I was treated just like
everybody else. So--and, so, um, you know there's a, there's a, um, uh,
you--when you think about Asia, you often think of, um, uh, male dominated
cultures and, you know, especially Japan for instance, or even Korea, where, um,
you know, women don't work outside the home as often as men do and--or as often
as American women do. I think in those places, I kind of got treated just like
an American. I think I kind of got the benefit of the doubt because of that. Not
always, I mean, I--there were moments when you could feel like people were not
used to having a woman in the room. But, um, when I think about, uh, trips that
I took with my boss, who was a man, to Korea for instance, um, you
00:56:00know, if you're selling spirits, you're going to be in bars. And if you're in
Korea and you're in bars, uh, you're probably going to have a young woman
serving you. And it, you know, it's not, um, dirty. I mean it's not like, uh,
you know--they're not prostitutes, but, um, but they treated me just like any
other person. We happened to have a, um, tie in with Jack Daniels and this, this
group of bars called Bikini Bars, what a weird place. You walk in, all the, all
the women--all the patrons are men, all the servers are women, and they're all
wearing bikinis--
MANY: --oh (laughs)--
GENTRY: --and--(laughs)--so, my, my boss and I pull up a chair to the bar and
order a drink and he starts to--and they speak perfect English, right, uh, which
is also crazy. Um, and my boss starts talking to the, to the bar maid
00:57:00about her stock portfolio. (both laugh) I mean, you know, they're ready for
anything at those places. Um, so I don't know, I--you know, probably people, uh,
were on their best behavior when I was around, but, um, when it came to
business, I don't think I was treated any differently, um, than anybody else--
MANY: --and, um--
GENTRY: --Um, and I can't say I didn't have great opportunities, you know. I
was given the chance to go to Asia. I was given a chance to, uh, run a part of
the company. I think when I took over the group in Prague, I may have been
one--I was either the first or one of the first women in Brown-Forman to run a
region, um--
MANY: --wow--
GENTRY: --so I certainly had opportunities--I, I was certainly given the same
opportunities that men, um, of my same vintage were getting. Um,
00:58:00yeah, so, I'm not, I'm not sure how, how it affected me exactly.
MANY: Hmm. That sounds like, um, nothing noticeable.
GENTRY: Not particularly, no.
MANY: So, uh, when you came back, in between 2012 and fifteen, in your
leadership role, you were part of a group that was dedicated to supporting
advancement of women in the--in Brown-Forman, um--
GENTRY: --yes--
MANY: --can you tell me a little bit about--
GENTRY: --actually that started--yeah, that started actually when I was in
Europe, so, um.
MANY: Okay.
GENTRY: Yeah, so Brown-Forman--actually it started when I was in Asia Pacific,
um. So Brown-Forman created these employee resource groups. Um, I don't know if
you're familiar with those. Hopefully somebody watches this in the future and
it's like, oh, how quaint. (both laugh) But, the, the basic idea was that, um,
there, there are groups of people who may not feel comfortable in their skin in
a business environment because they are not, you know, uh, the
00:59:00traditional groups that perform those roles.
MANY: ---------(??)
GENTRY: So, uh, there was a group created for women. That was the first one.
There was also one for African Americans, uh, a Hispanic group. Uh, there was
one created for Boomers. There was one, uh, for military, um, vets. Uh, so there
were a few different--I'm sure I'm forgetting some. But yeah, so, uh, the one
for women was created when I was in Asia Pacific, um, but just as I was leaving
there. When I got to Europe, um, my boss who was the head of Europe asked if I
would help, uh--so, the, the groups were created in the US, and my boss asked if
I would help create one in Europe for the European--
MANY: --oh, awesome--
GENTRY: --women. And, um, so, uh, so we got it off the ground. It wasn't
terribly active by the time I left but we were starting to have, um, sessions
together, and, and mostly we were just trying to educate ourselves
01:00:00about the state of women in business. Um, I learned a lot more about it when I
got back to the US and, uh, that group--by the time I got back to the US was
really up and running. And there was some great work that we got from, um, uh,
McKinsey and I think Deloitte. And to Deloitte--um, about, the, the, their,
their observations and study of how--uh, so Deloitte, for instance, um, and I
think this is unfortunately still true, if you look at accounting majors by
gender in the US, more than fifty percent of them are women. And therefore more
than fifty percent of starting, um--folks who start at Deloitte, um, at the
entry level are--more than half of those are women. But the further you go up in
the organization, the fewer women there are. And so, uh, Deloitte teamed up with
McKinsey to try to figure out what was going on there. And, you know
01:01:00there are just some, some themes that will not surprise anybody. Um, it's, uh,
it's--there is a theme about women have more, um, still have, uh, a bigger load
when it comes to, uh, caregiving, either for kids or parents or, uh,
housekeeping. And, uh, so they, you know, the--that impacts how much time they
can devote to their careers. Um, women--well, uh, it's also the case that, um,
there's a great statistic about if a, if a job is available, um, and a man looks
at the five criteria let's say for that job, and thinks that he can do one of
them, he'll apply for it--
MANY: --um--
GENTRY: --a woman has to feel like she can do all five before she'll--
MANY: --um-hm--
GENTRY: --apply for it. So, you know, men are just much more comfortable with
feeling like, you know, I'll just, I'll just get in there and it'll
01:02:00be a good experience whether I get it or not and I'll meet people and they'll
know what I can do and that I'm interested. Where women are more like, oh, if I
don't, if I don't think I can kill it when I get in that job, I don't even want
to take the risk because I don't want to--
MANY: --um-hm--
GENTRY: --destroy any equity that I already have. And that's just a very--uh,
it's just a you know, it's just how we are--(both laugh)--apparently,
apparently. So, um, yeah, so that was another hindrance. And there's just a
regular old, you know, people, uh, people unknowingly, uh, just feel affinity
towards, uh, folks that they see like--as being like themselves, you know--
MANY: --um-hm--
GENTRY: --they just get more comfortable with them more quickly. And I'll just
tell you, one, one thing that really brought that home to me when we lived
overseas was, um, so when were in Prague, our kids went to the international
school, and, um, the school was awesome about letting parents kind of hang out
at the school like in the cafeteria. Um, and there were something
01:03:00like fifty-ish, there was more than that, but about fifty nationalities
represented at this school. And so you'd think to yourself, well, fantastic,
right, I'm going to meet people from all over the world. I'm going to get to
know all different kinds of cultures. But the truth is, when you get all those
people in the cafeteria, they go straight to each other. Like they--
MANY: --um-hm--
GENTRY: --it's just, there is something about being with people who grew up in
the--with the same set of understood rules--
MANY: --um-hm--
GENTRY: --that makes it super easy. Where it takes energy to really get to know
somebody who's different. So, that, that plays out in careers all the time. I
mean, people don't mean to do it. Maybe some people mean to do it, but I think
most people don't. Um, so, so, these ERGs, um, one, one of the, one of the
things about them was it was a great way to educate yourself about like what's
the state of the world? Like how--what are we really dealing with? What are we
talking about? Um, and then, you know, once you kind of know what
01:04:00you're dealing with, then, then you can start to build strategies around how to,
um, how to solve some of those. Or how to, how to level a playing field a little
bit or, uh, give people the tools they need to, um you know, do what they want
to do, I guess. So--and I, I--as I thought about this, um, one other thing I'll
say. So I--had the great fortune, um, in my time at Brown-Forman to first work
for Phoebe Wood. She was the CFO, uh, who sent me from corporate development to,
um, Asia Pacific. And then, uh, at the end of my time there, I worked for Jane
Morreau who is the just now retiring CFO of Brown-Forman. So two very strong,
very smart women. Um, but during my time working for Phoebe, I just noticed that
she was, uh, promoting women at a much faster rate than any other executive at
the company. And I remember having, um, I remember having
01:05:00conversations with colleagues who were like, do you, do you think that's fair
that she's just--it seems like she's only promoting women. And, uh, you know,
something flipped inside me while I was working for her which was, um, I do
think that people don't mean to be biased. I don't think--I, I really do believe
that most bias is unconscious--
MANY: --absolutely--
GENTRY: --and I think if you ask most people, they will tell you they are not
biased. That they think women are just as capable as men. But I know about
myself, when I look at other women, that I have to catch myself and think, uh,
yeah she really is as good as any man--you know, she, you know--I, I, I know
that I have my own biases and I hope that I'm getting past those, but, um, so if
I feel it, then everybody must feel it--
MANY: --yes, you bet--
GENTRY: --and so what flipped for me is, so if that's true, and people want to
think that they're not biased but they really are, then, then we just
01:06:00have to, we just have to push stuff through. That--
MANY: --um-hm--
GENTRY: --you know, we just got to get people over that hump, right. And so,
again, I hope in the future somebody will watch this and think oh, how, how
strange--(both laugh)--that you had to think like that. But, the truth is, I
think, um, and it's not just women, it's um, it's, it's LGBTQ--
MANY: --um-hm, um-hm--
GENTRY: --trans folks, it's, um, people of color, it's, uh, people with
disabilities. I think, you know, we just have to shoehorn people--qualified
people into positions, um, even when the, uh, the managing--sorry the hiring
manager is like, "oh you know, this guy, I just got a good feeling from him.
(Many laughs) He's like, he's my guy, I know he can do the job." He could do
the--he absolutely could do the job, but so could five, five other people who
aren't going to get that shot because, you know, you just don't, you don't have
that cultural understanding with them that you have with, you know,
01:07:00somebody more like you, so.
MANY: Um-hm, um-hm--
GENTRY: --yeah, so, I mean that's radical, right. I mean I really am in the like
well let's just, let's just push it through, let's get it done, uh, camp at this
point. And--(laughs)--I, you know, I have some, I have some very strong, um,
opinions about things. And, um, one of which is politics, which I won't get into
here,--(Many laughs)--but I will just say that I find myself, even, even when I
see women on the other side of the political spectrum from me doing whatever it
is they're doing, I'm still like, you're still my sister, I still got to figure
out how to--(Many Laughs)--be supportive. But maybe she could go to something
else than what she's doing, I don't know. (Both laugh)
MANY: So, so, clearly during this time you had a chance to mentor, subsequent
to that you've had a chance to mentor. Tell me a little bit about your mentoring
philosophy, and you, and your leadership style that, you know, helped you help
others through that process.
01:08:00
GENTRY: Yeah, so all that being said, um, all of what I just said being said,
I'll say that, um, one of the things that I learned as part of the, um, employee
resource group, um, you know, getting educated about that stuff, one of the
things I learned is that, really, there is no difference between what women need
and what men need to be successful. It's just that, uh, men have a more innate
understanding and from an earlier age have people to kind of guide them--
MANY: --um-hm--
GENTRY: --you know, into the things that they need to do. So, um, my, my
leadership philosophy is that, um, I, I think people only learn by doing. And
so, I really value delegating. Um, and making--well, so the first thing you have
to know, is how people--what people want for themselves--
MANY: --um-hm--
GENTRY: --and then once you kind of have a, a gist of that, then, then, then
the key is to make sure, um, that they have opportunities to get the
01:09:00toolbox together to do whatever it is that they want to do. And some people
define that by a specific role they want to get to, and some people define it
by, you know, like, um, uh, content. Uh, for me, like I said, I just want to
be--I just want to do something that lets me learn stuff. Um, so, that's why my
career makes sense to me even if it's kind of a weird winding around of things--
MANY: --um-hm--
GENTRY: --but, um, but anyway, so, so yeah my leadership philosophy is, I want
to assemble a group of people who are smart and curious and energetic and then I
want to let them do their jobs. And, uh, give them all the resources they need,
you know. Show them to the deep end and then stand by on the side in case they
need some help--
MANY: --yeah--
GENTRY: --that's, that's how I see my role as a leader and, um, when I've had
the chance to mentor people, that's been my, that's been my approach for
that as well. And it doesn't matter whether it's men or women, it's
01:10:00really--just matters to--who the individual is and what they need. What--you
know, you meet them where they are, right, so.
MANY: Yeah, no it's, it's, uh--I'm sure you've had a lot of people who are
thankful that you've mentored them with that approach, so, um. That's a great
approach. Um, so, just switching gears, so great run at Brown-Forman and then
your time at Brown-Forman after eighteen years came to an end. Um, you've held a
couple different Chief Financial Officer roles in different companies. Um, what
led you to pursue those roles and, what, what transpired from one to the other
and what did you learn that you took with you, um, when you moved from one to
the next to the next?
GENTRY: Well, um, well, the truth is that, um, when--at the end of my career
at Brown-Forman, um, all of my mentors had left--
01:11:00
MANY: --hmm--
GENTRY: --and--(laughs)--and there was a reorganization at the company and
twenty-six people left the same day I did.
MANY: --hmm--
GENTRY: --um, and I think if I had to say why I was one of the twenty-six it
would be because, um, uh, because I was the most senior finance person reporting
to the CFO, and that was a primo position to train the next CFO, um, and it
wasn't going to be me. So, uh, they needed my spot to train somebody else, which
is totally cool, and I left on great terms. Loved the people there. Um, uh,
Jane, Jane Morreau was my manager at the time. I, I, I can't think of a more,
um, I don't know, I love Jane. She actually, uh, we were a little bit oil and
water working with each other, but she, um, has a huge heart and, um, always
works from a place of integrity and, and, um, passion. So nothing bad
01:12:00to say about her. Um, anyway, so, left to my own devices, and having all the
training that I just described--
MANY: --um-hm--
GENTRY: --I felt like it was my chance to go be a public company CFO somewhere
else. So, uh, I started a search and, um, ultimately was hired at Keurig Green
Mountain, um, another consumer products company. Um, the CFO at the time--uh, it
was a publicly traded, publicly traded company and the CFO intended to retire
within the next five years and so I moved into the North American CFO role, um,
which was like ninety percent of the business. Um, but, unfortunately, what they
failed to mention--(Many Laughs)--until the day I arrived, was
that--(laughs)--was that they were selling the company to a private equity firm.
So, uh, no longer public company--
MANY: --oh, wow--
GENTRY: --uh, no longer in need of a CFO. (laughs)
MANY: --oh, boy--
GENTRY: --because they had their own. Uh, yeah, this is a modern,
01:13:00this is a modern career story, right. So, um, yeah. Uh, so, which is fine--it
all worked out fine. So, I was there for about eight months and just
transitioned, um, my work to the new CFO and took off. Um, and, uh, yeah, they
paid me to come and they paid me to go, it just worked--(Many laughs)--just
fine. I had a little bit of an interim thing. I got back to Louisville and,
uh--I love Louisville. Um, I think it's a terrific town. I'm so glad it's my,
now, hometown. Um, even though I grew up in Charlotte, I feel like I'm, you
know, Louisville is where I'm from. And, um, so when I got back to town, uh, I
had a friend who was, at the time, the CFO at the University of Louisville. And,
uh, you may know, University of Louisville went through a rough patch a few
years ago. Um, there were many, many issues, um, from--governance,
01:14:00primarily governance issues. And, um, so, uh, so my friend who was the CFO,
asked if I would come spend a year at the school, and because I loved the city
so much and because I believe that having a, um, high quality educational
institution is super important to the growth of the city, um, and because
selfishly I think that that adds, uh--that's a job growth machine. Um, and I
want my kids to have a place to work here. I said I would come. So, I spent a
year at University of Louisville really just trying to put reporting systems in
place, um, so that the board could make all the decisions they needed to make,
uh, which were some hard ones. Um, so, that was a, that was a, um, that was a
year well spent, um, because, uh, it was the first time I had a chance to be
over an accounting team and over a tax team. Um, and then I had some treasury
responsibilities. So I picked up some, um, knowledge about, uh,
01:15:00functions that I hadn't really been exposed to, or at least not closely, uh,
before. So that was terrific. Um, and then when I left there, I, um, I went to a
aluminum sheet metal company, company that makes the, uh, aluminum sheet that's
used for cans, um, for beer cans and whatever all, but they didn't make the
cans, they just made the sheet, um, Japanese-owned company. Um, and, uh, I spent
about a year and a half there. That--they hired me because, uh, there was an
opportunity to, um, to create a new, uh, business vertical within that company.
And my experience, uh, maybe uniquely was--because of my M&A background--
MANY: --um-hm, um-hm--
GENTRY: --and also my time in the field would've been really helpful in
getting a new, that --this new business venture up and running. Um,
01:16:00unfortunately the Japanese company that, uh, owned us was, um, doing poorly and,
uh, needed to cut costs, and, and could not afford to make this investment, um,
even though it would have been a great return, so-- Um, so, there was no reason
to have a CFO in a company that was shrinking rather than, um, growing and so I
left there and came to Bardstown Bourbon Company. So, the thing is, that I left
Brown-Forman and, uh, as I hope you will have noticed, uh, I loved it there. It
was a great company to work for. I had so many great opportunities. Very
collegial, very teamwork oriented. Um, you know the Brown family controls the
company, even though it's publicly traded, and I think that their ownership
really, really adds, uh, a sort of a family dynamic to it. It felt like working
with a family. I mean it, it really did feel like we were all part of
01:17:00a--one big team, moving in the same direction. Um, super smart people running
that company. I loved it. Um, and so when I left, I didn't kind of want to go
work for another spirits company because I felt like I was cheating. (Both
laugh) Like, you know, uh, somehow competing against my family. Um, but after,
uh, after a few years being out of the organization--out of the industry I got a
call from a headhunter, um, about Bardstown Bourbon Company and, uh, and, I
started looking into it and, uh, I don't know how I'd forgotten so fast how much
fun it is, uh, to work in this industry. So when I had a chance to interview
with them and really connected with the management team here, it was easy, easy,
to say, yeah I'd love to come work here. So this company is in very high growth
mode. We were so lucky to have, uh, entrepreneurs start this business
01:18:00who were perfect for starting a business. So, uh, the vision of our founder Pete
Loftin, and he hired, um, David Mandell and Dan Linde, um, to come start the
business, David as, um, sort of the general manager and David as the--and Dan,
excuse me, as the, um, CFO. And those two--those, those three men together built
this amazing facility. So, Bardstown, the town, is the seat of bourbon distillation--
MANY: --it is--
GENTRY: --it's a historic place where you make bourbon. And, um, and as a
town, it is just gorgeous. It is this cute, old-fashioned, historic town. Jesse
James, you know, group--gang used to run through here. There're, you
01:19:00know, boy, the characters in spirits at all are crazy, and then, you know, you
got a collection of them right here in town. And then, you've got Bardstown
Bourbon Company which looks like a spaceship just dropped out of nowhere. (Many
laughs) I mean it is modern, glass, wood, everything's, uh, you know, um,
transparent in our business and in our facility. Um, it's, it's, it's like a
napa winery, um, fell into town. So, I feel like we've got the best of both
worlds because we've got all that historic basis and then we've also got this
very modern approach. Um, and what, you know, this, this company is, um, like I
said, growing really quickly. Most of our products--most of our capacity is
dedicated to distilling for other companies; about ninety percent of
01:20:00our capacity goes to that. Um, and as I said, we're sold out this year. We're
about sold out for next year--
MANY: --hmm--
GENTRY: --um, and we, um--and then about ten percent is, uh, for distillation
of our own brands. And, uh, so we started, uh, distilling in 2016 and if you do
the math, uh, you, you, you don't have six year old whiskey--(laughs)--in 2021--
MANY: --yeah--
GENTRY: --when you started in 2016, so, um. So, what we've been doing in the
meantime--well, first of all we make plenty of money distilling for other
people. So we don't have the same--the problem that a lot of new, um, companies
have where you have to, you know, sell moonshine or, you know, something. Um,
we, we already make money selling barreled, new-filled whiskey to our customers.
But, we didn't really want to wait to get new product out on the market until
six years, and so, um, we started, we started fooling around with
01:21:00blending whiskeys. So we were able to--our, our founder, Pete Loftin, was able
to procure, uh, a number of well-aged, delicious bourbons, um--
MANY: --um-hm--
GENTRY: --from around the industry, and, um, and we've been blending them with
each other, which is our discovery product, and then also blending them with
our, um, our young whiskey, three-four year old whiskey, um, which is our fusion
product. And then we've also taken some of those, uh, purchased whiskey's and
finished them in barrels of our partners, and that's our collaboration series--
MANY: --um-hm--
GENTRY: --so, that's what we've been doing in the meantime. And it turns out
that, actually, you know, you may know this, but blending in the spirits
industry is practiced in Scotland constantly. Like that's what scotch was until,
uh, the single-malt craze hit. Um, Japanese whiskeys do the same--
01:22:00
MANY: --um-hm,absolutely--
GENTRY: --with tea but it's not been very--it's not done that much in the US,
so. Um, so, turns out that it's very interesting to consumers and, um, they love
it. So, we put right on the label what whiskeys we put. I mean we can't say
because of non-disclosure agreements who made it, but we do say it's--where it's
from and what percentage is in the barrel, so, um. And then we have taken this
approach, which I think is so fun and great--(laughs)--it works out great, which
is, we have a sort of, uh, a bracket approach to our, uh, blends. So, our, um,
culinary staff and our distillery staff and our, um--
MANY: --um-hm, um-hm--
GENTRY: --hospitality staff, all of them can have a look at the inventory of
whiskeys that we have and, um, put a blend together and put it in
01:23:00competition, and then we do march madness style taste offs until we get to the
final one, and that's the one that wins. So, for instance right now, the
discovery that we have on the market was blended by Chef Stu, our, our executive
chef. Um, and our fusion on the market right now was, uh, proposed by Vince,
our--the head of our hospitality team, our--
MANY: --nice--
GENTRY: --our visitors experience team. So, it's a very cool, very cool--I
mean, I went way off on the deep end there, but I think that's okay--
MANY: --no, no, no way. You know, it's a perfect segue because after spending
almost twenty years at Brown-Forman, now fifteen months at Bardstown, can you
talk a little bit about the culture differences and, and, good and bad?
GENTRY: Yeah. I mean, I--so, like I said, I really--I think I was very
successful at Brown-Forman because I fit the culture. I mean I, like I said,
very collegial, um, people always wanted to help you. They, um--and,
01:24:00and, very teamwork oriented. But also very smart, very competitive. I think all
those things are true here too. I, I really--I love that about this place. Um,
so I--I'm on an executive team. Uh, my, my boss, Mark Erwin, is the CEO, um,
John Hargrove is our Chief Operating Officer and Herb Heneman is our Head of
Sales. And, um, you know, I feel like we're working very well together as, uh,
as an executive team, but, um, we are only 150 employees all together and I
don't know every one of them, I'm sorry to say because, you know, there are some
guys that work the night shift in the distillery I haven't gotten to know very
well yet--
MANY: --sure--
GENTRY: --and we just hired a bunch of people for our new bottling facility,
but, um. But I do kind of feel like everybody's looking out for each other. I
think that's there. Um, and then the upside is that--and, you know, this is not
Brown-Forman's fault, it's just a big business. And when you get to
01:25:00be big, you have to have, uh, more and different kinds of processes than you--
MANY: --um-hm--
GENTRY: --have in a small company. So, I mentioned the entrepreneurs that
started this business, and they were--really were perfect for getting it off the
ground. Um, but, as you probably know, entrepreneurs are great at some stuff and
not great at other stuff. And, um, so those guys have gone on to do other new
stuff that's more interesting--you know, they, they go off and do their next new
cool thing. Um, they built this beautiful place for us, um, and now it's our job
to, to, take what they've done and grow it into something even bigger, and so.
Um, and we don't really have to answer to anybody to do that. We just--the four
of us can decide everything. So, yeah I mean, you know, our owners of course
would like to know when we make them a profit. (both laugh) --
MANY: --yeah--
GENTRY: --there's some things we do have to get approval for. But for the most
part, you know, uh, they trust us to run the business. And, um, and
01:26:00so, yeah, it's just--uh, again, I feel like all the pluses of Brown-Forman, and,
and, and maybe not the one downside that I didn't recognize when I was there,
but I recognize now, which is, uh, no layers of approval. You can just move and
get things done.
MANY: That's awesome--
GENTRY: --so, yeah, it's really fun.
MANY: So, um, in, in your current role. I, um, I think Dr. Fernheimer
mentioned you were at the Beam Institute Conference a couple weeks ago--
GENTRY: --yeah--
MANY: --and you took part in a lunch and learn around diversity, equity and
inclusion, um.
GENTRY: Yeah.
MANY: How does that fit into some of your goals, your personal goals, but also
Bardstown Bourbon Company?
GENTRY: Yeah, I, um, maybe should mention that I serve as a board member at
the Ali Center in Louisville. Um, and I'm-- I can't tell you how proud
01:27:00I am of that. I don't feel like I deserve to be there, but, um, but I'm so glad
they asked me because, um, you know, just as I said, uh, a switch went off for
me about women in, in careers and, you know, just feeling like, uh, people don't
mean to be biased but they are, I mean quadruple that for people of color, right--
MANY: --hmm--
GENTRY: --so, it is--I, I cannot walk, I cannot walk in their shoes. I cannot
know what their lived experience is. But I can try to, I can try to figure it
out. I can try to be an ally. And I'm very much dedicated to doing that. Um,
now, wanting to do that and putting it in action are, turns out be, completely
separate things. So, um, I went to that lunch and learn because I was hoping
that there would be some way--I just need some help. I mean I can't figure out
how to get more people of color into this company. So, as I mentioned
01:28:00briefly, we are just about to open a bottling facility. Um, it's, uh, scheduled
to start producing in May, so in about a month. And, uh, you know, we, we were
able to hire, um, like twenty-five people, um. I, I haven't done a count, I
think there might be, I don't know, out of that maybe less than a handful of,
uh, people of color who were hired as part of that. Um, I have a, I have a
financial analyst role open in my group and I told the hiring manager, let's
don't hire anybody unless it's a person of color. Like let's just plain don't do
it. But, we couldn't get anybody to apply. Like we could not find candidates. I
mean I, I, I reached out to, um, Kentucky State, reached out to Simmons, um,
reached out to, um, people of color in the community that I
01:29:00thought--and they said go to Simmons, go to Kentucky State. Couldn't find anyone
who wanted to apply for that job. And in my mind, you know, one of the things
that's difficult is, as a small company, um, it's really helpful in most
positions to hire people with experience because, uh, we're too
little--everybody's wearing a million hats and so we need people who already
know what they're doing. And as I just told you, it's my, it's my leadership
style anyway to, um, delegate, so kind of need people who know what they're
doing. But we have entry-level jobs. They don't have to have experience. So--
MANY: --yeah--
GENTRY: --in my mind, that was a perfect chance to bring a more diverse, a
more diverse group into the fold, um, and just get started on that journey and,
you know, I'm going to give us a C minus. I mean, we just, we just
01:30:00couldn't figure it out. So, so the, the, the suggestion that the career
counselor at Kentucky State had for me was, uh, start with the high schools in Bardstown--
MANY: --interesting--
GENTRY: --so we're going to organize, um, we're just going to organize around
doing career days at the high schools and hope that we can convince kids of all
stripes that when, once they've finished school, that we've got a place for
them. Um, and hope some of them come home, so. I'm wide open if you've got
better ideas--(laughs)--really, uh.
MANY: And then so, based on your experience, is it, um, working in the
industry, working in Bardstown, all of the above, I mean what's your--
GENTRY: --yeah, yeah. It's both--
MANY: --what's the feedback you're getting as to what's making it hard to
recruit and retain--GENTRY: --yeah, so--
MANY: --specifically people of color?
GENTRY: --the problem with hiring people with experience is that the industry
is not very diverse. So, uh, if you're looking for people with
01:31:00experience, you're going to have a hard time finding people of color. Um, and
then, uh, and then, I would, I would suggest that Louisville's not a great place
to recruit people of color too, um, especially after Breonna Taylor, um--
MANY: --hmm--
GENTRY: --I mean, you know, put yourself in their shoes. Would you, would you
come there? I, I wouldn't.
MANY: --hmm--
GENTRY: Um, and then Bardstown, being more rural, is even harder.
MANY: --hmm--
GENTRY: So, on the one hand, I've got a entry-level position to hire for, on
the other hand, you know, if you were, if you were a person of color, you'd
probably stick to urban areas, um, so that you'd have people to hang out with
that you want to hang out with and communities around you who are supportive.
Um, an entry-level job probably doesn't pay well enough for you to want to
commute from Louisville to Bardstown every day. So, yeah, I don't
01:32:00think it's easy.
MANY: Yeah.
GENTRY: Um, it's not that you won't ever find people who fit all of those
things, but boy it takes some digging and, and we're not doing a great job at it
yet. And I don't, I really don't mean to let myself off the hook because I, um,
I was talking to someone the other day, different industry, different job, um,
but her point of view was, uh, don't fill the job until you get what you want.
And your hiring manager will get pretty creative if they can't get a person
until they get the right kind of person, you know. Um, the whole--and I was
like, oh, that's, yeah. You're probably right about that. So, yeah, that's, I
don't know, more work to do there. But it is really important to me. It's really
important to me. And, and, it's not just important because it's the right thing
to do, although that's true, it's also important because, um, this is
01:33:00a, this is a growth industry, but part of the way it's going to grow is by
expanding its, um, its market. And domestically that's really true. So, um, you
know, it used to be only white guys drank bourbon. (Many laughs) And now more
women are interested in drinking it. And, uh, if you want to keep growing, you
better make sure, uh, it's not just white people drinking it, um--
MANY: --um-hm--
GENTRY: --because they're not going to be--(laughs)--the majority of the
population pretty soon. And if you want to, if you want to really engage with
other communities, then you need to have the diversity in your company to help
you do that. I mean you need to really--I mean if I've learned everything from
living all over the world it's that cultures are different and if you want to,
if you want to align with a different culture, you got to immerse yourself. Or
you got to have somebody who can be your guide, so. I'm all in. I
01:34:00want to, I want to figure out how to do it, haven't done it yet.
MANY: Hmm. Well, wanting to and having a desire to, is, is half the battle.
GENTRY: Maybe, I don't know. I haven't gotten very far. (laughs)
MANY: Yeah--
GENTRY: --but I will say, and, you know, I, I probably feel most strongly
about it, um, on, on our executive team. But my, my team members are all right
behind me. Like they're, they're all in too, you know. They'll let me do the
work, but they--(Many laughs)--also want it, so. Um, you know, as an
organization, we want it, we just--we got to figure out how to get it done.
MANY: So you've been in the industry, spirits industry, for twenty plus years.
GENTRY: Yeah.
MANY: How has it changed from when you started to today at Bardstown?
GENTRY: Well, certainly, um, has grown. If you look at, um, if you look at the
US drinks, per, per capita, it's pretty flat over decades. But, um,
01:35:00there are ebbs and flows between beer and wine and spirits--
MANY: --um-hm, um-hm--
GENTRY: And spirits has definitely been taking share from beer and wine over
the last twenty-five years. So, um, so there's big growth in spirits, generally.
And, uh, when I got into the business, the big growth category was vodka.
MANY: --um-hm--
GENTRY: You know, first it was Absolut and then it was Grey Goose, um, and
then it was Tito's. Um, but, bourbon has had a renaissance and, um, and then,
the, and so, and, all of these--and tequila's kind of also, is also a big
grower. And, uh, and Irish whiskey another interesting category for growth. So,
the category--you know, the tastes change a little bit from time to time, um,
but there's been a lot of growth there. And the growth has generally
01:36:00been at more premium price points. So, there's been a real, um, premiumization
of the industry, um, since my time there. Um, I would have said it's been
consolidating, but it seems like every time one company buys up a bunch of
little brands, more brands proliferate. So, I'm not sure that that's true or
not. I don't have the data to support that. Um, I know from my time at
Brown-Forman, and I suspect this is true, uh, for all the bigger companies,
that, um, uh, international growth has been a significant part of the growth of
those companies. So, um, the US, at least in my experience, is the place where
you start brands because American consumers are far more likely to try something
new than, um, a lot of other consumers. Um, so, a lot of brands start here and
then grow overseas. Um, so internationalization is another big trend that's
been, um, finding its way through the spirits industry. Um, and then,
01:37:00you know, I guess the makeup of the industry is slowly changing but it's very
slow. It kind of feels like it's plateaued, if you want to know the truth. I'm
not sure that there are that many more women in positions, um, uh, executive
positions, now than there were when I was started--when I started in the
industry. And I don't know if there are any people of color who are leading
companies in our industry. So, I'm not sure there's been a lot of change on that
front to be honest, uh--
MANY: --interesting, interesting. And for you, specifically as a woman within,
in the industry, have you seen differences for women and minorities, or it
sounds like maybe not? I don't know, what do you think?
GENTRY: I don't, I don't think so. I really don't. I mean, um, I, I hear, I
hear my colleagues in the industry saying all the right stuff. And maybe they're
like me. Maybe they're like, "I want it to happen, but I can't figure
01:38:00out how to make it happen." That's possible.
MANY: Yeah--
GENTRY: --um, yeah, so, we, they, they, like I, we shouldn't let ourselves off
the hook. We got to figure out how to make it happen. But yeah, I feel like
it's, it's not happening it's--and it's very slow. There are some companies
though--I mean look at like, uh, Uncle Nearest, um--
MANY: --um-hm, um-hm--
GENTRY: --minority-owned brand. And, um, I wish I could name them all but, um,
the brothers, Brough Brothers, in Louisville.
MANY: Um-hm, um-hm.
GENTRY: So there are some new brands on the market that are, uh, that are
Black-owned that, um, are very interesting. I'm super interested to see what's,
what's going on with them. I guess some other trends in the industry too, and,
and I'm more exposed to them now, here, is--because innovation is super
important to us in our business. So, one of the reasons that, um, so much of our
capacity is filled with customer product is because we have super flexible
distillation, um, capabilities. So, we, we had like thirty-three
01:39:00changeovers in the distillery in the fourth quarter of last year because we make
one person's mash bill and then we move to the next person's and the next
person's. Um, innovation's super important. So, um, and there's a lot of
innovation going on in the spirits--and you wouldn't think, right, because it's,
uh, as old as man, spirits--
MANY: --um-hm--
GENTRY: --but, um, yeah, there are lots of really cool things going on, new
products, new thinking. Um, and so as I think about trends, like, I've, I've
seen people in the industry, um, looking at ways to make flavorful drinks that
are low or no alcohol. That's an interesting one.
MANY: Um-hm.
GENTRY: There's also been a lot of news lately about folks who are trying to
figure out how to age whiskey more quickly.
MANY: Um-hm.
GENTRY: Um, I think those are all really, really interesting. Um, anything
that, um, uh, decreases negative health benefits or improves health
01:40:00benefits or reduces cost or increases revenues, those are all things that we
should all be interested in, so.
MANY: And, and, and you talked about--the US audience, um, spirits is growing,
but maybe the base isn't necessarily broadening. Um, anything that you can think
of that the industry needs to do to purposefully broaden that base to women and
to people of color, LGBTQ, any, anything--or anything specific that you guys are
doing to really try to break out of that mold.
GENTRY: Yeah, I mean I--our, our brands are so small that, um, we're, we're
not to the point of targeting--target marketing with consumers. We're just
trying to get our message out there, that we are a young, innovative whiskey
company. Um, you know, we're putting our blends together in a kind of a cool way
and, um, we're making great tasting stuff. We want everybody to enjoy.
Our hook is, really, if we can get anybody to come to the distillery,
01:41:00they fall in love and they just, you know, they become fans. Um, you know, I
should've said, one place where I think women really have made inroads in the
industry is, it seems like a lot more master blenders and master distillers.
MANY: Um-hm.
GENTRY: Uh, those roles are going to women increasingly. And I'm told, I don't
know this is true because it's not true for me, but, um, I'm told that, uh,
women actually have better, uh, sensory capabilities than men, just naturally,
on average. Um, so, it would make sense that you would have the people with the
best capabilities doing that job but, um, and I've also seen--I know our
brand--our national brand ambassador is a woman, and it seems like a lot of
those kinds of roles, like the, the person who's the nexus between marketing and production--
MANY: --um-hm--
GENTRY: --that that person seems to be a woman in many cases. So, but those
are the interesting areas of, um, advancement for women in the
01:42:00industry, I think.
MANY: Interesting. Um, so as young women see this video or talk to you in the
future, what recommendation would you have for young women who want to get into
a position eventually such as yours?
GENTRY: Yeah, I--same advice I'd have for a guy--(laughs)--which is, um, and
the same advice I give my kids, and that is, you know, uh, just start. Pick
something that you think you're going to like and try it and, uh, as you figure
out what it is you want to do when you grow up, you know, make sure you're
putting tools in your toolbox, and by that I mean picking up the right kinds of
experiences and capabilities, um, to, uh, to help you get where you want to go.
I think it's a crazy idea that you're going to know when you're in college
what you want to do for the rest of your life.
01:43:00
MANY: No way. No way.
GENTRY: That's a crazy idea.
MANY: It is.
GENTRY: Um, I think college should be about learning how to learn and how to
communicate with people and getting to know yourself as a person. And then, you
know, if you want to come into this industry because, you, you, you--if you're
coming into this industry it's because you're drawn to it for some reason or
another. And whatever that reason is, if it's because you just love bourbon, if
it's because you like, you know, uh, marketing and, and, you know, the theories
behind psychology in marketing, if it's because you just like to make money. I
mean whatever it is, something's drawing you here, do something. Do something
that is, uh--that aligns with that interest and, you know, the great thing about
this industry, it's not just true of Brown-Forman and Bardstown Bourbon Company,
very collegial industry. People, people are here because they love it, because
it, it's fun to work in. And whatever it is you want to do, people
01:44:00will help you do it. There's--you know, I haven't had anybody tell me no yet.
It's, it's, it's a great industry that way.
MANY: That's awesome.
GENTRY: That's terrible advice, I guess, but (laughs)--
MANY: --no, that's good advice. That's great advice. It's very, um--it's
nothing, just--it's great advice to somebody who--gives them the courage to just
go try, go do, right?--
GENTRY: --yeah. Just get started. Yeah.
MANY: Yeah. So, a couple of fun questions to follow up to as we get towards
our end of our time here, do you have a particular favorite bourbon that you
like? And if so, what is it? Or are you a bourbon drinker?
GENTRY: I am, I am a bourbon drinker. Um, yeah. My current favorite is, uh,
Bardstown Bourbon Company's--
MANY: --okay--
GENTRY: --collaboration with The Prisoner Wine Company.
MANY: --hmm--
GENTRY: --so, this is a, this is a really special, um, uh
01:45:00collaboration--well, we have, we have two wine collaborations. They're both very
good. Um, the other one's with Suzanne Phifer Pavitt's, um, Cabernet, so, uh. In
the case of wine, um, our partners dump their wine barrels and then they leave a
little bit in the barrel, um, normally the stuff they would throw out, they just
leave in, and then they fill it with argon gas, wrap it in plastic and put it on
a refrigerated truck and bring it to us. So when we get those barrels, they're
not dry wine barrels. They still have some stuff in there--
MANY: --um--
GENTRY: --and then we age--we, we take this well-aged, usually above
thirteen-year bourbon, and put it in to finish for eighteen months. And it is
delicious. (laughs) It's so good.
MANY: Hmm, sounds spectacular.
GENTRY: So, yeah, that is great, just on the rocks, just--you know, let the
ice melt just a tad, um, to open it up and it's fantastic, love it.
01:46:00
MANY: Hmm, hmm, well, thank you. Is there anything else you want to add?
Anything else we didn't cover? Any other topics that you want to just comment on
or add a thought about it?
GENTRY: I feel like, uh, I have told you everything about myself. (laughs)
MANY: Yes you did and it has been great but, um, I, I--
GENTRY: --but I will end with a story. I, I once--so, when I was at
Brown-Forman, I did--I had a great--I had a lot of--many, many opportunities to
work with Owsley Brown the second, who was such a wonderful person. As I said,
super smart, um,very, um--just very kind, easy to work with. Um, and always made
you feel like you were so smart yourself. Anyway, I was--I asked him what his
favorite brand was, or his favorite drink. --
01:47:00
MANY: --um-hm--
GENTRY: --and of course, it was Old Forester because that's their founding brand--
MANY: --I bet--
GENTRY: --and Old Forester is delicious, so don't get me wrong, he's not wrong
about that. But, uh, when I was asking him, I happened to be in his house, he
was having a reception, um, uh, for some, uh, company guests, and, uh, he was
welcoming people coming into the house, and so we were--he was welcoming me and
I was like oh, you know, Owsley I always wondered what was your favorite brand,
he says Old Forester. And then I guess he wanted to take a sip, but also
continue talking, so--(both laugh)--or--interacting with me, so he just tipped
the glass up like this--(laughs)--and still maintained eye contact and I
just--(Many laughs)--. It was the most adorable thing I've ever seen. It was wonderful--
MANY: --oh--
GENTRY: --and anyway, that's my last little bourbon industry story.
MANY: That's a great one--(both laugh)--that's a great one to end, wow. I
thank you so much for, you, your--sharing with us today and your
01:48:00willingness to participate. It's been fantastic and you've been fantastic, so, I
appreciate it very much.
GENTRY: My pleasure--
MANY: --alright, um--
GENTRY: --I was so glad to do it, thanks.
MANY: Thank you.
