Meet The Team

Steve Alasi

Chairman & CEO of Reliable Blends

Sitting on the board for various companies stretching across multiple industries and always having had an aptitude for all things enterprise, Steve Alasi is the Chairman & CEO of Reliable Blends. Utilizing his technical backgrounds in risk management, finance management, corporate structuring & business development, Steve excels as a corporate and financial consultant with a specialization in risk management and leads Reliable Blends on its journey to market with his extensive experience in business operations. Being well versed in all aspects of the P&L, Steve completely understands the current business environment and where Reliable Blends can capitalize most.

Leveraging his extensive network, which involves some of the worlds most respected institutions, individuals and entities, Steve has personally brokered multiple acquisitions and mergers throughout various industries on both a domestic and international level. Through years of working as an executive professional, Steve has built a vast portfolio of experience in relation to forming, opening, managing and structuring a large array of corporate entities where he comes highly recommended.

Having a heavy hand in creating the methodologies that are used in the formulation process of all Reliable Blends products and being one of the driving forces behind Reliable Blends blooming from a brilliant wellness initiative into a fully faceted company positioned to expand, Steve has been leading the entire team at Reliable Blends to create a company that can stand out from the rest through its innovative products. Today, Reliable Blends is the collaborative effort of a passionate team, brilliant physicians that have dedicated their life’s work, and the leadership of Steve Alasi to improve the lives of millions through unique products.

Richard H. Pierson

Vice President & COO of Reliable Blends

Coming from a heavily accomplished career in the corporate fashion industry, Richard Pierson brings with him over 20 years of experience in international operations & development with valuable expertise in global licensing. Instrumental in building the architecture that led to Tommy Hilfiger becoming one of the most successful international companies in the apparel sector, Richard has traveled extensively to all parts of the world networking and signing major distribution deals in China, Japan, South Korea, South East Asia, Australia, India, Mexico, Central and South America.

As the former Vice President of International Operations for Tommy Hilfiger, Richard Pierson directed a team of international brand managers and employees to successfully implement design materials, production work, visual branding, marketing and store design. Opening doors for Tommy Hilfiger, Richard oversaw operations and business development of Asia Pacific and Latin American territories with business operations exceeding $250,000,000 wholesale with over 400 points of sale. He played a pivotal role in increasing business for Tommy Hilfiger 55% from 2003 to 2007.

After leaving Tommy Hilfiger, Richard filled senior director positions related to international operations and development at Guess & BEBE stores. Richard has helped to reposition some of the biggest fashion brands into new and unexplored markets with an astounding performance record. At the spearhead of bringing Reliable Blends to market, his extensive experience in business operations and long term implantation of strategic business plans, coupled with his ability to lead teams, manage relationships and drive results makes Richard an extremely valuable addition to our team.

Katrina Shockley

President & Director of Production

As a former NAFTA officer for Parker Hannifin – Veriflo Division, Katrina was directly responsible for the management & logistics of all of Parker Hannifin’s domestic & international accounts. After her time with Parker Hannafin, Katrina went on to work as the Production Manager of CGI, Inc., a leading manufacturer of advanced products for robotics and automation.

Katrina Shockley brings more than 30 years of business and production management skills to Reliable Blends. At CGI she was credited for the company’s astounding growth throughout the course of her career and was responsible for facility operations and maintenance as well as managing well over 100 employees. Katrina also managed and directed the workflow of all aspects of production, purchasing, planning, scheduling, packaging and shipping.

With her wealth of knowledge in all aspects of manufacturing, Katrina is directly responsible for the management of quality control and helped create the methodologies used in the formulation process of all of Reliable Blend’s products. Katrina plays a critical role in the day to day operations of Reliable Blends where she already brings tremendous experience of the entire production process and excels at leading and managing a large workforce to meet and surpass company goals & directives.

Dr. Anthony Alasi, DC.

Health Board - Co-Director | Board of Directors

An astute professional and also a vital architect in the development of the formulations that are used in Reliable Blend’s products, Certified in manipulation under anesthesia and specializing in pain management treatments and therapy, Dr. Anthony Alasi is a decorated Chiropractic Physician who has quite an extensive list of accomplishments in and out of his career.

Dr. Alasi has spent the majority of his professional career further pursuing his education to improve the lives of others and has also managed and owned multiple offices over the last decade. Having been involved with other health & wellness initiatives in the past, Dr. Alasi is experienced in governing organizations as well as making sure that goals and objectives are met to drive the company forward. Dr. Alasi has helped Reliable Blends realize proper strategic partnerships with his involvement as one of the directors of Reliable Blend’s Health Advisory Board.

Dr. Alasi, along with the rest of our brilliant team that helped create the formulations used in our products, work fervently to provide opportunities for the people who need the benefits of our products the most. Going beyond helping his own patients, Dr. Alasi has also been a guest on multiple television shows to speak about overall health and was a featured guest speaker on over 50 live television broadcasts discussing topics ranging from health, nutrition, fitness, injury prevention and pain management. While running his practice and setting the foundation for Reliable Blends to prosper, Dr. Alasi continues to work towards finding new and novel solutions that may benefit people suffering from debilitating conditions and remains a vital contributor in guiding Reliable Blends.

Dr. Nabil Yazgi, MD

Health Board - Co-Director | Board of Directors

Dr. Nabil Yazgi, renown for his innovative research, played a critical part in engineering the formulations that go into our products. Specializing in Neurology and Pain Management, Dr. Yazgi has helped thousands of patients get back to their daily lives and routines with little to no pain. With more than 30 years of experience in the field of medicine, Dr. Nabil Yazgi obtained his Medical License in 1984 and is recognized and board certified by the American Board of Neurology and Psychiatry.

An avid investor with a vast knowledge of the medical and pharmaceutical industries as well as the governing experience that comes from sitting on multiple health related boards, Dr. Yazgi is known for his contributions of research in various areas, some of which include: bio-identical hormone therapy, weight loss and its effects on the human body, metabolism functions and electrolyte balances of many different elements within the body and has helped an immeasurable amount of patients reach their health and fitness goals.

Committed to finding new, novel and innovative forms of treatment, Dr. Yazgi works passionately to provide the best standard of treatment for all of his patients. When he is not running his neurology practice, His free time is devoted to researching various areas of health and how external influences can improve our overall wellness. After years of treating patients and extensive research, Dr. Yazgi has dedicated his life’s work to finding solutions to the problems his patients face daily.

Steve Birkhold

Director of the Advisory Board

Steve Birkhold is a 30+ year veteran of the fashion industry, who has an extensive record of effective and multifaceted experience leading globally recognized brands having served as the CEO of BEBE Stores, Lacoste and Diesel, along with more than 10 years in senior management roles at VF Corporation with Lee Jeans and Nautica Jeans. His experience covers all aspects of the P&L along with merchandising, marketing, retail, wholesale and e-commerce. He brings operations experience as well as his knowledge of the current business environment.

Steve is currently CEO of SNB NYC Consulting, leveraging his CEO skills to specialize in a variety of entrepreneurial and fashion related verticles including tech, branding, business strategy and international distribution. Recently being appointed as the director of Reliable Blend’s advisory board, adding to SNB NYC Consulting’s portfolio, Steve Birkhold has also recently taken an innovative role with XSET, a new video gaming organization and platform.

With his meticulously proven track record of excellence in successfully leading and managing some of the largest brands in the fashion industry, Steve plays an vital part in our key strategy for growth with his strategic guidance and his vast connections to retailers, supply chain and distribution channels.

Robert Almerini

Chief Financial Officer

Bob is a growth oriented senior executive with extensive Public, Private and Private Equity owned business experience, working across Consumer Product, Fashion, and Manufacturing industries within Retail (B2C), Wholesale (B2B), and Omni-Channel distribution channels. Bob has sourced, negotiated, and closed several M&A transactions, strategic divestiture deals, debt restructurings, system implementations and turnaround efforts, all providing enhanced liquidity, improved processes, reduced costs and increased revenue and profitability. His disciplines include Strategic Planning, Business Process Improvement, Restructuring / Turnaround, Merger & Acquisition, Banking and Investor relations, Financial Reporting, Controls, Analytics, Risk Management, Treasury, Information Technology / ERP, Data Analytics, Business Intelligence, Supply Chain Management, Purchasing, Production, Logistics, Direct to Consumer / E-commerce, and Real Estate. He combines financial and operational business analytics to drive continuous process improvement.

A CPA by trade, he began his career with Arthur Andersen, both as an auditor and a consultant. He’s held senior management positions at major brands, including Toys ‘R Us, Party City, Diesel Industries, DVF Studios and Nicole Craft Brands. A graduate of Georgetown University, he enjoys providing career advisory support to alumni. Additionally, he’s an avid philanthropist, musician, traveler, biker, and hiker, and tackles home and auto restoration with zeal.

Richard D. Pierson

Director of Grow Operations

Playing a vital role in our organization, it is thanks to Richard Dean Pierson that we are able to have a grow operation that will soon provide us with the ability to extract our own isolate for our products.

Rich runs and maintains the farm facilities as they are now that grow the high quality hemp Having worked in the past as the head grower for a facility that cultivates medical cannabis for patients in need, Mr. Pierson is extremely knowledgeable when it comes to the growing, cultivation, and harvesting of the cannabis plant. At Reliable Blends he employs organic practices to ensure we have the highest quality, federally compliant hemp. Mr. Pierson holds an Associates of Arts Degree with a major in Merchandise and Product Development from The Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising in Los Angeles, California.

For the past two years Mr. Pierson has been giving back to his community as the Assistant Director for ChokeOutCancer, a highly esteemed, recognized 501c Non-Profit organization that has been running smoothly for more than eight years. ChokeOutCancer raises awareness for cancer while endorsing health and wellness.

Karel Ancona

Assistant Production Manager

Also having migrated over from CGI, Inc., Karel Ancona worked directly under Katrina Shockley, and assisted Katrina in managing daily operations most notably with scheduling and planning. Prior to her employment at CGI, Karel worked for 35 years as a journalist and traveled working as a floating editor for various columns and media companies all throughout the Northwest.

Highly qualified as a public relations specialist, having worked extensively on multiple political campaigns, publishing, press releases and has even published numerous political excerpts as well as speeches for select politicians. Karel is the curator and writer of all the content we have used on our website so far, and she plays an integral part in the production process where she assists Mrs. Katrina in all of her various duties.

Mary Pierson

Advisory Board - Design Brand Strategy

Mary is currently the Senior Vice President of Denim Design at Madewell, a subsidiary brand of J Crew Inc. where she has been instrumental in the brands incredible growth story over the past 9 years. Mary has built her thirty year career working for and growing high profile fashion brands including J Brand and Gap Inc., along with supply chain players Cone Mills and Li & Fung.

A graduate of Cornell University, Mary brings insightful information and the ability to leverage connections to retail opportunities. Being credited for playing an integral part in the rise of Madewell brands and experience on both sides of both supply chain and production, Mary has a unique knowledge of procurement, product design and excels at product development.

Brief Story About the Team

Steve Alasi

Richard H. Pierson

Katrina Shockley

Dr. Anthony Alasi, DC.

Dr. Nabil Yazgi, MD

Steve Birkhold

Robert Almerini

Richard D. Pierson

Karel Ancona

Mary Pierson

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Steve Alasi

Chairman & CEO of Reliable Blends

Richard H. Pierson

Vice President & COO of Reliable Blends

Katrina Shockley

President & Director of Production

Dr. Anthony Alasi, DC.

Health Board - Co-Director | Board of Directors

Dr. Nabil Yazgi, MD

Health Board - Co-Director | Board of Directors

Steve Birkhold

Director of the Advisory Board

Robert Almerini

Chief Financial Officer

Richard D. Pierson

Director of Grow Operations

Karel Ancona

Assistant Production Manager

Mary Pierson

Advisory Board - Design Brand Strategy

Brief Story About the Team

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Steve Alasi

Chairman & CEO of Reliable Blends

Richard H. Pierson

Vice President & COO of Reliable Blends

Katrina Shockley

President & Director of Production

Dr. Anthony Alasi, DC.

Health Board - Co-Director | Board of Directors

Dr. Nabil Yazgi, MD

Health Board - Co-Director | Board of Directors

Steve Birkhold

Director of the Advisory Board

Robert Almerini

Chief Financial Officer

Richard D. Pierson

Director of Grow Operations

Karel Ancona

Assistant Production Manager

Mary Pierson

Advisory Board - Design Brand Strategy