Anchor Appoints New VP of Sales
San Francisco’s Anchor Brewing has hired Martin Geraghty as vice president of sales, the company announced via a press release.
Geraghty joins Anchor a year after the San Francisco brewery’s sales declined 15 percent, to 115,000 barrels, according to data from the Brewers Association (BA).
Geraghty will focus on growing sales in Northern California, and expanding Anchor’s export business, the company said. He’ll also “interface” with Sapporo USA, the domestic subsidiary of Sapporo Holdings Limited, which acquired the iconic California craft brewery for $85 million in August 2017.
“Martin’s experience in Northern California and Europe made him the ideal candidate to lead sales efforts at Anchor going forward,” the company said in the release.
Geraghty most recently served as southwest region director for Michigan’s Founders Brewing Company. Geraghty’s previous experience includes stints at Firestone Walker, Craft Brew Alliance and Diageo Beer.
Constellation Brands Promotes Monteiro to Chief Innovation Officer
Constellation Brands has promoted Mallika Monteiro to the role of senior vice president and chief growth officer, the company announced in a press release.
Monteiro, who previously served as vice president of innovation for Constellation’s beer division, supplants Jared Fix, who is leaving the company to pursue another career opportunity. She will now report to Constellation president and chief operating officer Bill Newlands.
“Mallika has done an outstanding job building an innovation pipeline designed to fuel growth for our beer division well into the future,” Newlands said in the release. “Through her leadership, we’ve found ways to further extend some of our most powerful brands while also developing new-to-world products that align with consumers changing preferences.”Constellation — whose beer portfolio includes Mexican import brands Corona, Modelo and Pacifico, as well as craft offerings from Ballast Point, Funky Buddha and Four Corners Brewing — credited Monteiro with spearheading its recent product launches, including Corona line extensions Premier and Refresca, Svdeka Spiked Seltzer and Western Standard, a lager aged in High West whiskey barrels.
In reporting its second-quarter earnings last week, Constellation leaders said those line extensions Premier and Familiar helped accelerate the Corona brand family’s depletions from growth of 4 percent in FY18 to 8 percent in the first half of FY19. The company also said it is planning a national rollout for Refresca as well as a spring expansion of Svedka Spiked Seltzer’s footprint.
In other Constellation news, the company announced the election of Jennifer M. Daniels, Colgate-Palmolive Company chief legal officer and secretary, to its board of directors in late September.
“Jennifer brings extensive experience in consumer product goods, mergers and acquisitions, regulatory compliance and corporate governance that will serve as tremendous assets to our board at a very exciting time as our company explores new avenues of growth, while continuing to build momentum for our high-performing beverage alcohol business,” Constellation chairman of the board Richards Sands said, via a press release.
Fair State Brewing Hires Ex-Surly Brewer
Minneapolis, Minnesota-based Fair State Brewing Cooperative has hired Jerrod Johnson as its new director of brewing operations.
Johnson joins Fair State after serving as a head brewer for Surly Brewing Company, where he worked alongside Ben Smith since December 2016, following the departure of brewmaster Todd Haug.
In his new role, Johnson will work with Fair State lead brewer Joe Wells to manage Fair State’s production facility in St. Paul.
In a press release, Fair State co-founder Niko Tonks called Johnson’s hire “a watershed moment.”
“I think it puts more people in the right places, to make the right decisions, to spur further growth and inventiveness not only in terms of barrels produced, but in the chances we can take with our beers,” he said.
MillerCoors Appoints New VP of Coors Family of Brands
In an attempt to turnaround the Coors Light brand, MillerCoors has appointed Ryan Reis as vice president of the Coors Family of Brands, CEO Gavin Hattersley announced in late September.
“As we work to get to long-term profitable growth, the single most critical priority for the company as a whole is driving significant improvement on Coors Light – and we simply cannot pause in that quest,” he wrote.
Hattersley noted Reis’ “proven track record of brand turnaround” and credited him with “restoring the [Miller Lite] brand to segment share and volume growth after seven years of decline” in 2013-14.
Reis, who served as vice president of field marketing, assumes the role from Ryan Marek, who is departing MillerCoors. Reis will report directly to Hattersley until the company hires a new chief marketing officer.
NBWA Hires VP of Communications
The National Beer Wholesalers Association (NBWA) has hired Lauren Kane as vice president of communications.
Kane joined the NBWA in September after serving as spokesperson for the American Beverage Association, a non-alcoholic beverage industry trade group. She previously worked for a handful of governmental agencies, including the White House’s Office of Cabinet Affairs, the Georgia Attorney General’s Office, and the U.S. Treasury Department office of Public Affairs.
“She has an incredibly strong background in public affairs and communications,” NBWA President and CEO Craig Purser said in a press release. “She also has worked on several hot-button state and local policy issues in the beverage industry. Lauren will be a key addition to our team as we expand our capabilities to better serve our members and partner with our state associations.”
Kane will lead the NBWA’s communications and public affairs team, while also overseeing the trade group’s “strategic and tactical communications activities.”