Helen Hardy joined Brother Justus in April 2022 as the six-year-old whiskey company was still recovering from myriad challenges brought on by the pandemic. Minneapolis-based Brother Justus had earned national accolades for its whiskey but did not yet have the systems it needed to scale and grow efficiently. In just one year, Hardy built that strategic and operational foundation. She took control of the company’s cash flow to ensure financial sustainability, improved financial projections, streamlined measurements and reporting, created an HR practice, and built a structure to achieve strategic business goals. Under her leadership, the whiskey company secured funding to double production and is poised to begin market expansion product distribution plans. Brother Justus whiskey is available in 250 Minnesota liquor stores and is on bar menus all over the Twin Cities.