Monster Beverage Corp. is continuing its push into the adult beverage market.
The Corona-based company, known for its portfolio of energy drinks, debuted a second alcoholic product following the launch of a flavored malt drink called The Beast Unleashed last year. Its newest product is a hard tea that comes in four different flavors.
Monster entered the alcoholic beverage category after it acquired craft beer and hard seltzer company Canarchy Craft Brewery Collective LLC in February 2022 for $300 million.
In June, the company completed a $3 billion Dutch tender offer, resulting in the buyback of 56 million shares at $53 apiece.
Leading the 50-person legal team through these product launches and transactions is Paul Dechary, who was honored at the Business Journal’s General Counsel Awards last year in the public company category.
Branching out into alcoholic beverages has come with “all sorts of learning from the legal side,” according to Dechary.
“Building that distribution network from the ground up was a big accomplishment,” Dechary told the Business Journal.
Dechary’s day-to-day consists of managing all legal matters for the $48 billion company (Nasdaq: MNST) from corporate governance to over 16,000 registered trademarks in its portfolio.
Over the course of his nearly 17-year career at Monster, Dechary and his team have enjoyed multiple successes in the litigation space, including a win in a 2022 trademark infringement case against Bang Energy maker Vital Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Annual Fundraising Bike Ride to Cure MS
Team Monster Energy is gearing up for another Bike MS Bay to Bay Ride.
Dechary formed a team at the company 16 years ago to help raise money for the National Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Society.
The cause is close to his heart; his wife Amy was diagnosed with a debilitating disease 16 years ago.
“Last year, my wife experienced new disease activity, and we faced the uncertainty of her trying a new medication,” Dechary said in a statement to donors.
He and Amy have since received guidance from a new neurologist and the Pacific South Coast Chapter of the National MS Society who helped her get effective new medication.
This year, Dechary and more than 50 others will be riding for Team Monster, which includes his 13-year-old daughter Natalie for the second year in a row.
The company team raised nearly $150,000 in last year’s bike ride, bringing their 14-year fundraising total to over $850,000.
They’re aiming to break the $1 million mark this year and have raised $76,500 out of their $150,000 goal. Dechary raised almost $40,000 of the total himself.
The two-day bike ride kicks off Oct. 19 at Broadcom Inc.’s local offices in Irvine and concludes in San Diego.
