Modern Times Beer has named Jennifer Briggs its new CEO and has promoted Danielle Jackson to VP of sales, the San Diego-headquartered craft brewery announced Wednesday.
Briggs, who has been a member of Modern Times board of directors since July 2021, was appointed interim CEO in October after founder and former CEO Jacob McKean resigned in May 2021 and president and chief operating officer Chris Sarette departed in August 2021, according to his LinkedIn profile. The ouster of McKean, who remains the company’s majority shareholder, followed Modern Times being named nearly a dozen times on social media as a toxic workplace rife with favoritism and harassment as part of the outpouring of workers’ experiences that shook the beer industry during the spring and summer of 2021.
“We’ve made some crucial leadership decisions that we feel will be instrumental in both the financial and cultural health of Modern Times,” the company wrote in a press release. “As we move forward into the next phase of our journey in beer, coffee, and hospitality, we’re incredibly lucky to be guided by some wildly talented, experienced, and just all-around amazing people.”
Modern Times, which operates eight taprooms in California and Oregon and distributes beer in 11 western states, was among the higher-profile breweries to take action in the early days of what became a watershed moment for the craft beer industry that played out on the Instagram accounts of Brienne Allan (@ratmagnet) and @EmboldenActAdvance. Before McKean’s resignation, the company terminated an employee whose inappropriate behavior was named in several stories shared to Instagram.
Amid the turmoil — which included a work stoppage at the brewery’s Oakland, California taproom — Modern Times set in motion a number of changes to alter its culture and elevate employees’ voices, which it detailed on its website. These included establishing a third-party reporting and investigation platform, mandatory bystander and conflict de-escalation training for managers and public-facing workers, anti-oppression education, a review of the anti-harassment policy and training, a third-party audit of compensation an a code of conduct for patrons and members of the company’s League of Partygoers and Elegant People consumer-facing club.
“We’ve made some difficult decisions and dealt with some even more difficult realities, and we’ve done everything in our power to listen, reflect, learn, and come out the other side a wiser, stronger, and more equitable company,” Modern Times wrote in a press release announcing Briggs’ and Jackson’s roles.
“It’s taken time,” the company continued. “We’re nowhere near done, and we’ll never be perfect, but those of us who are still here haven’t stopped striving toward what we know this company can be for both its employees and its supporters.”
Prior to joining Modern Times, Briggs – whom the release described as an “industry icon, business magician, and all-around badass” – served as VP of human resources and organizational development at New Belgium Brewing from 2004-2017. Most recently, she was a senior strategy consultant at the Beyster Institute at the University of California – San Diego’s Rady School of Management.
“Re-entering the beer industry is exciting to me,” Briggs said in the release. “I have so many friendships built around making and selling beer, and I am looking forward to extending that community.
“Modern Times has been a company I’ve watched since my time with New Belgium; the business’s approach to having a strong connection to the consumer is unique and special, and something that is much needed as we work our way through the social austerity COVID has created,” she continued.
Briggs noted that Modern Times has grown and changed since its reckoning with its culture and now has “a unique opportunity to share a genuine connection with a community desiring to live a new, vibrant social experience using the lens of tasting, flavor and human connections.”
“This company has made many of the right moves to address issues, and they have learned and grown from the experience — now it is time to heal, build, and create,” she continued. “We have new leaders joining and leadership emerging from within the company and it has been incredibly exciting to be a part of over these last few weeks. There are challenges ahead and the learned experiences will only help us be stronger, more resilient, and ready to tackle them.”
Jackson joined Modern Times in October 2016 as a regional sales manager, according to her LinkedIn profile. Before being named VP of sales, Jackson was the area sales manager for Arizona, Texas, Utah, New Mexico and Colorado. She supplants former VP of sales Phil MacNitt.
“Dani has already been instrumental in getting Modern Times through one of the toughest years we — or anyone else in the beer industry — have ever encountered,” Modern Times said in the release. “Her rich history in the beer industry, working for everyone from independent distributors like Great Bay to industry giants like Anheuser Busch and Pabst, brings both a deep well of knowledge and a new and much-needed agility to our sales team.”
Jackson’s career also includes roles at Vermont Cider Co. and North American Breweries.
“I am fortunate to have been able to start my career at Modern Times during an early phase of growth and development in the company’s timeline, and I am honored to be in this leadership role as we move into our next phase of growth and change,” she said in the release. “I am extremely excited to be able to lead such a dynamic sales team, as well as witness the boundless creativity and talent from all other facets of Modern Times. I cannot help but be excited for the future of this company.”
In 2020, Modern Times was the nation’s 40th largest craft brewery by volume, according to data from the Brewers Association. The company’s output declined -9%, to 63,662 barrels of beer in 2020.
This story was updated at 12:25 p.m. ET on January 6 to include more information about Briggs’ tenure on the company’s board and McKean’s ownership stake.