Claude Burns is a Navy veteran and food and beverage entrepreneur. Currently, he serves as the CEO of Office Libations, a fast growing corporate refreshment provider in Oakland, CA and Ale Tales, a specialty craft beer concept with locations in Albany, CA and San Diego, CA. 

Founded in 2014, Office Libations provides snacks and beverages to many of the Bay Area’s largest employers. Current customers include companies like NerdWallet, LinkedIn, HotelTonight, and Galvanize among others. With a focus on timeliness, quality, and high-touch customer service, Office Libations is on a mission to provide some of the countries most innovative companies with the snacks and fuel needed to perform at the best of their abilities. In 2019, Office Libations was recognized as the 224th fastest growing private company in America by the Inc. 5000. Office Libations has also been recognized by the SF Business Times as the 8th fastest growing company in the Bay Area. Most impressively, Claude has enabled his firm’s growth profitably and without outside investment, a rare feat in a town flush with VC money. 

Prior to starting his entrepreneurial journey, Claude spent 6 years on active duty and deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. He serves on Veteran’s Launch advisory board helping Veteran entrepreneurs access capital to start their own businesses. He holds a B.S. in Physics from the United States Naval Academy and an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management.