Ces Butner

Businessman and Philanthropist Ces Butner is the former Owner of Horizon Beverage Company, an Oakland based Beverage Distribution Company that supplied retailers in Northern Alameda County and Western Contra Costa County.

After graduating from the University of Missouri in 1975 and working in Minneapolis and Chicago for fortune 500 Companies, Butner settled in Oakland in 1981, working for a local beverage distributorship. Beginning as Sales Manager, he also held the positions of General Manager and Vice President when in 1987 at the age of 33, he purchased the business with business partner Denny Suzuki, naming it Horizon Beverage Company and becoming the youngest owner of an Anheuser-Busch Wholesale Operation in the nation. Through acquisitions and expansions over the next 28 years Butner more than quadrupled the size of Horizon Beverage Company’s revenues, at the time placing it among Black Enterprise’s top 100 Black Owned Business nationally. Horizon employed more than 150 families and was the only labor friendly (Teamster Local 853) beer distribution operation in the East Bay. In 2015, Butner sold Horizon Beverage Company’s distribution rights and assorted assets enabling him to fund his CesTRA Butner Family Foundation which is dedicated to supporting organizations that provide education opportunities for Black and Brown youth in the Oakland/East Bay community.

Ces Butner has long been involved with the Oakland community. He has been Chairman of the Board for the YMCA of the East Bay, the Oakland Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, and the Oakland African American Chamber of Commerce, as well as President of the Oakland Board of Port Commissioners, President of Oakland Rotary #3, and President of Sequoyah Country Club. He has also served on the Boards of Friends of Oakland Public Schools, the City of Oakland’s Budget Advisory Board, the Oakland Education Council, Bay Area Black United Fund, Lake Merritt Breakfast Club, Oakland Convention and Visitors Authority, Redwood Day School, Oakland Festival of the Arts and currently still serves on Oakland’s Board of Port Commissioners. Butner was also a candidate for Mayor of Oakland in 1998, losing to former Mayor/Governor Jerry Brown.

Mr. Butner’s most rewarding, impactful, and lasting contribution to the Oakland community is his Family Foundation. The CesTRA Butner Family Foundation has granted over $8m in gifts to various local nonprofit organizations over the past 8 years highlighted by major funding of the Oakland Promise, Hidden Genius Project, and the Oakland Zoo.

Mr. Butner’s interest in public service is a continuation of his efforts to utilize business principles to promote equal opportunity, economic development, entrepreneurship, education, and environmental responsibility for all the citizens of Oakland. He is committed to preaching the gospel of efficiency and accountability in government, as well as racially inclusive economic development as a means to success for Oakland and its residents.

Ces Butner lives in Oakland with his wife Teresa and has two daughters, Raquel & Andrea.