Before becoming CEO of Kendall-Jackson wines, Rick Tigner studied liberal arts at Modesto Junior College, graduating with his associate degree in 1982.
Tigner went on to complete his bachelor's degree at San Diego State University and worked in sales at Miller Brewing Co., E. & J. Gallo and Louis M. Martini before joining Kendall-Jackson in 1991 as the Western Division manager. He worked his way up to lead the national sales team and was eventually named president of the company.
Tigner was raised in Modesto, in the heart of the Central Valley grape-growing region, and he has spent his life steeped in the art and business of wine making. A winemaker himself, Tigner owns an 80-acre vineyard, Dream Catcher Wines, where he personally blends his own chardonnay and pinot varietals.
Along with his wife, Wendy, who lives with Parkinson's, Tigner works with the Michael J. Fox Foundation helping to raise money for research into the disease.