Goose Island Exec Tapped as New Blue Point President

Blue Point Brewing has announced that former Goose Island Brewing and Deschutes Brewery executive Mark Hegedus will take over as president, effective immediately.

The news comes less than three months after Anheuser-Busch InBev (A-B InBev) acquired New York-based Blue Point for an estimated $24 million, and three years after the beer giant purchased Chicago-based Goose Island for $38.8 million.

“Having a deep understanding of the craft beer business with previous leadership roles at Deschutes Brewery and, most recently, Goose Island, Mark will lead Blue Point’s operational and sales and marketing initiatives,” the company said in a statement.

Blue Point was founded in 1998 by Mark Burford and Pete Cotter and is headquartered in Patchogue, N.Y. Burford and Cotter will continue to serve as senior advisers at Blue Point.

“They built Blue Point, and their advice and involvement will help drive Blue Point and its brands moving forward,” the company said.

A long-time marketing and sales executive, Hegedus previously developed local and national marketing strategies and programs for Goose Island. Prior to his two-year stint with Goose Island, Hegedus worked with Deschutes Brewery, where he was the director of sales and marketing, Red Bull North America, as an on-premise sales manager, and Coors Brewing Company as a national accounts manager.

Following the February purchase of Blue Point, Andrew Goeler, A-B InBev’s vice president of imports, craft and specialties, told Brewbound that the company would look to expand the availability of Blue Point offerings through larger production runs at A-B InBev brewing facilities.

“Similar to what we do with Goose Island, where we make some of the beers at an A-B brewery, we have the same opportunity to expand with Blue Point,” Goeler said at the time. “We will be able to get the brands out to A-B wholesalers and will allow consumers to have access to these great beers.”