Buff City Soap Gets New CEO from Topgolf

Original Article: The Dallas Morning News - July 31, 2021

Dallas-based Buff City Soap is bringing on freshly minted CEO, Craig Kessler, who’s bringing his impressive track record with him. As chief operating officer at Topgolf, Craig Kessler helped drive the company’s growth into the stratosphere—tripling its locations from 25 to 70 and pushing revenue to nearly $1 billion. Now, all eyes are on Kessler to work his magic at Buff City Soap, where he’s expected to ramp up store expansion and sales.

Craig has officially traded in his golf balls for bath bombs as he steps into this new role and he’s set to begin his fresh new start on Monday!

Wayne Moore, managing partner at Crux Capital and co-chairman at Buff City Soap, hailed Kessler’s “proven leadership, visionary thinking, and strong operational experience,” calling them the perfect ingredients to shake up the retail world and help Buff City continue to redefine the game in plant-based personal care.

Kessler sees great potential at Buff City Soap, saying the “opportunities for growth are remarkable.” The company, which relocated from Memphis to Dallas in 2020, was founded by Brad Kellum and Jennifer Ziemianin in 2013 with a mission to create soap free of animal fats. Kellum remains focused on the creative side of the business.

Buff City Soap has embraced an interactive retail concept, where customers can select scents and even make their own products at in-store events, thanks to the Dallas office of CallisonRTKL, which designed the innovative store layout.