Creature Comforts co-founder Chris Herron is stepping down as CEO of the Athens, Georgia-based craft brewery. Co-founder Adam Beauchamp will take over the role.
The CEO transition was announced to employees during a companywide town hall meeting today.
Herron had served in the CEO role since Creature Comforts’ founding in 2014. He will serve in an advisory role during the transition.
“Creature Comforts is part of my DNA as I worked for years on developing the brand and the beers long before we opened our doors 10 years ago,” Beauchamp said in the announcement. “I am excited to lead Creature Comforts into the future, but it’s a testament to Chris and our leadership team that we are prepared to execute our plans for the next 10 years. We built Creature Comforts on the foundation of fostering human connection, and we will continue to focus on quality, as well as creating industry-leading beverages and experiences.”
Herron added: “It has been the highlight of my professional career to work alongside Adam and all of the talented, creative and compassionate individuals who have made Creature Comforts the amazing company that it is. Creature is a successful company by any measure, and what we have achieved together makes me incredibly proud. Creature has a steady and strong leadership team, so I look forward to watching the brewery continue to grow and have a positive social impact.”
Beauchamp led Creature Comforts’ production and quality teams for the brewery’s first eight years, including leading the buildout of the company’s Southern Mill production facility. He was named chief operating officer in 2021 and holds a seat on the company’s board of directors.
Moving forward, Beauchamp will be focused on maintaining the brewery’s quality and community engagement, while “driving sustainable growth.” He takes over a now-decade-old Creature Comforts, with operations in Athens, as well as a 10,000 sq. ft. brewery and 3,000 sq. ft. taproom in Los Angeles.
Creature Comforts was the 34th largest Brewers Association-defined craft brewery by volume in 2023. The brewery increased production +11%, to 77,926 barrels of beer, its highest output ever, according to the May/June edition of the New Brewer Magazine. Last year marked Creature Comforts’ third consecutive year of double-digit growth (+10%, to 70,030 barrels in 2022; +27%, to 63,381 barrels in 2021).
In October, a vote for Creature Comforts staff to unionize fell short, with 21 votes in favor of formalizing the union and 32 opposed. The Brewing Union of Georgia (BUG) filed an objection challenging the election process with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).
The failed vote followed nine months of contention between Creature Comforts leadership and BUG, with BUG submitting multiple unfair labor practices filings with the NLRB allegating union busting efforts, including employee retaliation firing. The brewery denied the allegations, with Herron and Beauchamp calling them “false and baseless claims in a January 2023 statement.