Undercover Boss: What Rick Learned

For Rick Tigner, president of Kendall-Jackson, the opportunity to go on Undercover Boss let him tell the story of our company, its employees and our founder, Jess Jackson.

When first approached by CBS about going undercover to explore the company he leads, Rick realized there was an opportunity to showcase the things that make Kendall-Jackson special.

“Undercover Boss gave me a great opportunity to meet the people who work at Kendall-Jackson,” Rick said. “I’ve only been the president for a short time and going undercover gave me the opportunity to look, listen and learn about the stories of the people who work in production, the vineyards and the bottling line.”

On January 29th you’ll have the chance to learn with Rick as he explores each facet of Kendall-Jackson. He’s been with us for over 20 years, but by donning a cowboy hat and getting a new haircut he was able to hear the stories of Laura, Marcos, Rene and Savannah.

In doing so, Rick was echoing the sentiments of our late founder, Jess Jackson.

“Jess used to say that ‘there’s a there there,’” Tigner said. Jackson was talking about using only the best land and the best grapes. Rick used the experience to get closer to beginning of the wine making process. But for Rick, this gave him a chance to really explore the new mantra of our company: lands, brands and people.

“Presidents always want to fly at 30,000 feet,” he added. “But sometimes you need to fly at three feet to make a company even better; my goal on Undercover Boss was to become a better president and manager.”

So be sure to tune to CBS on January 29th as Rick becomes the latest Undercover Boss. Explore the winery with us and see aspects of the winemaking process that are rarely seen, and learn about the passion and quality we put into every bottle of Kendall-Jackson.