Management Team

Evan Hafer is the founder of Black Rifle Coffee Company, and has served as our CEO since inception. Prior to founding Black Rifle Coffee Company in 2014, Mr. Hafer served in the US Army for twenty years, fifteen in special forces, where he was a Green Beret with 19th Special Forces Group. Mr. Hafer also served as a contractor to the Central Intelligence Agency. Mr. Hafer attended the University of Idaho.

Chris Mondzelewski has served as Chief Executive Officer since Jan of 2024. Chris comes to Black Rifle with more than 28 years of consumer marketing, business and leadership experience. For the past 13 years, he was at Mars Inc and held multiple leadership positions of increasing responsibility across the company including Chief Growth Officer, Senior VP North America Customer Development, and VP of Marketing. Prior to that, Chris spent 12 years at Kraft Foods where he led businesses in North America and China. Before his business career, Chris was a Marine for five years, deploying in support of Operation Desert Freedom. Chris has a strong personal connection to the military and first-responder community. Chris has a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Vanderbilt University and an MBA in economics and marketing from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

Stephen Kadenacy, who is the former CFO of AECOM (NYSE: ACM), is a significant shareholder and has deep familiarity with BRCC’s operations and financial profile, having played an integral role in the business combination of BRCC and SilverBox, including serving as Chief Executive Officer of SilverBox Engaged Merger Corp until its merger with BRCC in February 2022. He is a seasoned investment professional and former Fortune 200 operating executive with expertise in managing, building and growing global public organizations, most recently serving as Co-Managing Member of SilverBox Capital, an investment firm which he co-founded in 2017. With experience spanning over three decades, he was also the CEO of Boxwood Merger Corp until its merger with Atlas Technical Consulting and then remained on the Board. Previously, he held leadership roles at AECOM, a global engineering and technical services company, including serving as President, Chief Operating Officer, and Chief Financial Officer. Previously, Mr. Kadenacy was a Partner at KPMG in the Economic Consulting Practice and served as a member of the Board of Directors of ABM Industries (NYSE: ABM), a provider of facility management services. Mr. Kadenacy also served on the Board of the YMCA of Greater Los Angeles and the Board of Trustees for UCLA’s Anderson School of Business. Mr. Kadenacy holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from UCLA and an MBA from USC.

Mat Best co-founded the Company with Mr. Hafer and has served as the Company’s Chief Branding Officer since the Company’s inception. Prior to co-founding the Company, he founded Article 15 Clothing, and created multiple brands, such as Leadslingers Spirits and the Drinkin’ Bros Podcast. When serving in the U.S. military, Mr. Best deployed five times to Iraq and Afghanistan, serving under the 2nd Ranger Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment. After his military service, he did contract work for the CIA for five years. Mr. Best holds a B.L.A. from Ashford University.

Chris Clark has served as Chief Technology Officer of the Company since May of 2022. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Clark served as the Chief Information Officer for Levi Strauss & Co. since 2017. Prior to Levi’s, he was VP of Supply Chain Solutions and lululemon athletica, working as a partner between technology and the business to achieve enterprise goals, including supporting revenue growth from $700M to $1.6B. His career also includes multiple senior leadership positions at GAP Inc., where he led technology related to global supply chain systems and global application delivery operations. His private sector experience followed five years of military service as an aviation officer in the United States Army after graduating from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering.

Danya brings more than two decades of experience as a sales and growth leader, driving results with Food, Drug, Mass (FDM) and Omni retail partners. In her most recent role, she served as President of Ethique Consumer Products’ North America business, a New Zealand-based concentrated beauty products company experiencing double digit direct to consumer growth. While there, she led the North American Go-to-Market Strategy, including its entry into the U.S. FDM market, while also enhancing digital transformation. Prior to her time at Ethique, Danya held roles of increasing responsibility for six years at Mars Petcare including VP of Customer Development and Managing Director of Sales Planning, Category Insights & Solutions. While serving as VP of Customer Development, Danya helped drive step-change growth in retail partners such as Amazon, Chewy, Target, Albertson’s, and Kroger. Before that, Danya spent nearly 10 years at Reckitt Benckiser leading businesses in North America and Europe.

Andrew McCormick joined the Company as General Counsel in September 2021. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. McCormick served as General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of Laird Superfood from February 2019 to September 2021. Mr. McCormick previously worked as a Senior Associate at Hogan Lovells US LLP from 2014 to 2019 and as an associate at Latham & Watkins (London), LLP from 2011 to 2013. In 2010, Mr. McCormick completed a civilian clerkship with US Army JAG in Seoul, South Korea. Mr. McCormick graduated from Hendrix College with a B.A. with distinction, and holds a J.D. from Columbia University and an LL.M. from the London School of Economics.