Suresh Yaralagadda

Suresh Yaralagadda serves as CEO of his non-alcoholic beverage company, which he launched two and a half years ago after moving to San Diego, California, four years prior. Growing up on the East Coast in North Carolina, where alcohol consumption was part of social rituals, he transitioned to the West Coast and identified a market gap for beverages that address psychological and neurochemical reasons for drinking without sugar, empty calories, THC, or dissociative effects. He collaborated with a naturopathic doctor for one and a half to two years to develop a product featuring Kana, a plant from South Africa that calms and elevates users without hangovers. Prior to founding his company, Yaralagadda worked at a startup under the chief revenue officer at Passport in North Carolina, helping scale operations from 50 to 500 employees to unicorn status while maintaining strong culture and zero voluntary departures. He founded diversity, equity, and inclusion programs at his previous company of 600 to 700 employees and earned Employee of the Year recognition. A believer in the school of hard knocks and the power of will over skill, Yaralagadda draws career inspiration from advice to live with tenacity and remain curious, as shared by Jeff Bailey. He participates in organizations such as Expo West and BevNet, volunteers with Life Rolls On to help paraplegic children surf and with Habitat for Humanity, and holds Boy Scout awards.