Fallow Collective
Katharine Jerkens is a senior business executive with more than 20 years of experience building brands, leading high-performing teams, and driving growth across the spirits, hospitality, and lifestyle industries. Currently, she serves as Chief Business Officer of Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey, where she oversees the brand's global sales, marketing, and distribution strategy and has played an integral role in building the company from its earliest concept into one of the most successful independent American whiskey brands in the industry.
Jerkens joined Uncle Nearest before its 2017 launch, when founder and CEO Fawn Weaver first approached her with the concept for the brand. Working alongside Weaver from those earliest stages, Jerkens helped translate the vision into a commercial business, including developing the brand's go-to-market strategy. She went on to lead the expansion of Uncle Nearest to nationwide distribution in less than two years and ultimately into all 50 states and international markets.
During her tenure, Uncle Nearest has become the fastest-growing American whiskey brand in U.S. history and the best-selling Black American-founded spirits brand. Jerkens' leadership spanned sales, marketing, distributor and retailer partnerships, national accounts, commercial strategy, team development, and international expansion, helping establish Uncle Nearest as a significant player in the premium spirits industry.
Beyond her executive leadership at Uncle Nearest, Jerkens has served in advisory roles supporting entrepreneurs and emerging businesses through the Nearest & Jack Advancement Initiative (NJAI) and its Black Business Booster program. Through this work, she has brought her experience in brand building, sales strategy, distribution, organizational growth, and commercial development to founders building and scaling their businesses.
Prior to entering the spirits industry, Jerkens spent nearly two decades in hospitality, holding senior sales leadership roles with JRK Hotel Group, Viceroy Hotels, SLS Beverly Hills, and W Los Angeles. She also served as a brand immersion trainer for W Hotels, an experience that helped shape her understanding of how strong brands are built from the inside out and how culture, storytelling, and customer experience can drive long-term growth.
A native Californian, Jerkens grew up in Monterey and Petaluma and attended the University of California, Los Angeles. She resides in Los Angeles with her husband, three children, and dog.