The well-known Michigan political couple Dick and Betsy DeVos are moving into the liquor industry.
The DeVos’s holding company, Windquest Group based out of Grand Rapids, has started the process of purchasing the Coppercraft Distillery. The first step in the acquisition process is the license transfer, which was approved by the LCC on January 20th. The transfer of the liquor license will take up to 6 months for the state to approve and therefore a source at Windquest confirmed that it was still too early to talk about the acquisition. The distillery provides more than 100 locations across Michigan with whiskey, gin, vodka and rum. Walter Catton III, who had opened the distillery in 2013 said there are many expansion ideas to follow including the production of handcrafted wines and beer.
Dick DeVos is a Michigan based entrepreneur and the son of Richard DeVos who is the cofounder of Amway. Dick was the CEO of the company from 1993 to 2002. In 2006 DeVos ran for the governor of Michigan but lost. Forbes magazine in 2012 listed him as the 67th richest person in the United States with a net worth of approximately $5.1 billion, much of which he has given away through his family foundation. Dick has four children with his wife Betsy DeVos who is an American Politician, philanthropist and business woman. According to his LinkedIn, DeVos received his bachelors degree in Business Administration from the Northwood University and later attended Harvard Business School and Wharton Schools however he did not graduate from them. Dick’s involvement in his fathers company, Amway, started in 1974, where he held a number of positions in different sectors of the company. These included finance, sales, marketing, manufacturing and Research/Development. In 1984 Dick became vice president of Amway and had responsibility of operations in 18 different countries. He played a pivotal role in the company opening in new markets around the globe as well as tripling international sales for the first time since the companies inception. Dick DeVos left the company only to rejoin as the President of Amway and to succeed his father Rich DeVos. Nowadays, Dick runs his own business and enjoys pursuing his hobbies of sailing and flying as well as being involved in various charitable endeavors via his organization, which you can learn more about here: http://www.dbdvfoundation.org/about/.
The Windquest Group which was mentioned earlier is an investment management firm that is privately held with holdings in manufacturing, technology and other sectors. Their main focus over the years has been renewable energy as this according to the DeVos’s is an important part of our future.
