Eastside Distilling, Inc. announced that On June 25, 2020, Lawrence Firestone entered into an executive separation agreement pursuant to which Mr. Firestone will transition his relationship as Chief Executive Officer. The Separation Agreement provides that Mr. Firestone will resign as CEO upon appointment of a successor, which will be Mr. Block. He will also assist and cooperate with Eastside, as needed, with any transfer of duties and further assist and act as a consultant or advisor to Eastside with any ongoing questions or issues or matters which may arise through December 31, 2020. Effective July 1, 2020, Director Paul Block will be appointed as Chief Executive Officer of Eastside. Prior to his appointment, Mr. Block was the chair of the Nominating & Corporate Governance Committee and was a member of the Audit Committee and the Compensation Committee. Mr. Block will resign from all committees of the board of directors of Eastside effective upon his appointment as Chief Executive Officer, and director Robert Grammen will become the lead independent director and be appointed chair of the Nominating & Corporate Governance Committee. Mr. Block will remain chair of the Board and a non-independent member of the Board. Paul Block, age 63, was appointed to Board of Directors in April 2020 and currently serves as Chairman of the Board. Mr. Block also currently serves as a member of the board of directors of GLG Life Tech Corporation, a producer of zero calorie natural sweeteners, and served as president of GLG Life Tech Corporation from January 2019 to June 2020. Prior to GLG Life Tech Corporation, Mr. Block held numerous positions as a consumer goods executive, including as chief executive officer and member of the board of directors of SVP Worldwide, a consumer sewing machine company, as chief executive officer and member of the board of directors of Merisant Worldwide, the maker of the Equal Sweetener brand, and as chief executive officer of Sara Lee Retail Coffee & Tea USA, a retail coffee company. He also held various marketing and brand management positions with Allied Domecq PLC, Groupe Danone, Guinness and Miller Brewing Company earlier in his career. Mr. Block received his Bachelor of Science from Kent State University and participated in the Kellogg School of Management’s Advanced Executive Program for General Management.