Alaskan Brewing Company yesterday announced that longtime chief operating officer Linda Thomas would take over as the company’s CEO.
Citing their desire to continue building the “pioneering legacy” of Alaskan Brewing, company founders Geoff and Marcy Larson said promoting Thomas to CEO would enable the pair to spend more time “focusing on innovation and the spirit of craft brewing.”
“Alaskan Brewing is growing and exploring many opportunities, which pulls Geoff and I further afield,” Marcy Larson said in a press release. “We really rely on Linda Thomas here at our home office, and feel moving her into the pivotal CEO position will give us more stability for solid future growth.”
Thomas, who has been with Alaskan Brewing for 22 years, led the development of the company’s employee stock ownership plan three years ago. As of January, employees owned 10 percent of the brewery, according to the Juneau Empire.
“Our brewery has so many opportunities to grow our leadership in the craft industry here in the U.S. and even internationally, and I’m excited to drive that train forward, while keeping to the core values and mission of Alaskan Brewing,” Thomas said in the release.
Geoff Larson, who had served as CEO since founding the company in 1986, will maintain his role as president and board chair, the company said.
Beer Institute Adds Communications Director
Elsewhere, industry lobbying group The Beer Institute today announced the hiring of Daniel Roth as its new director of communications. Roth fills the void left by former vice president of communications, Chris Thorne, who departed the organization last June.
In a note to members, BI president Jim McGreevy said he was excited to tap into Roth’s “significant experience in communications and knowledge of government.”
Roth most recently served as the former communications director for Congresswoman Karen Bass and previously worked as the communications director for the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, where he “led communications efforts during the 2012 election cycle,” McGreevy wrote.