People Moves: Coronado Brewing Names New CEO; Monday Night Brewing Hires Director of People and Culture

Former Sol-ti COO Named Coronado CEO

Coronado Brewing Company announced Thursday the appointment of James Murray as the San Diego craft brewery’s next CEO.

Murray will be tasked with restructuring Coronado’s leadership team “to streamline operations and elevate key personnel into new roles,” according to the release.

As part of those changes, co-founders Ron and Rick Chapman will transition to the board of directors. Rick Chapman will continue to serve as president, while Murray will oversee the day-to-day operations and strategic planning.

“As we head into 2020, James will be instrumental in helping us fine tune our efficiencies, diversify our portfolio, and continue to propel our brand,” Rick Chapman said in the release.

Murray most recently served as chief operating officer of San Diego-based organic non-alcoholic beverage brand Sol-ti. However, Murray brings extensive experience in craft brewing after working for more than 14 years as director of brewing operations for Ballast Point Brewing Company.

“James has tremendous experience scaling operations and growing brands,” Coronado co-founder Ron Chapman said in a press release. “He is a family man that fits in well with our company culture, and we can’t wait to hit the ground running in 2020.”

Murray backfills the role previously held by Brandon Richards, who departed Coronado to become the president of AleSmith Brewing in November.

At the time, Coronado co-founder and president Rick Chapman said he would take over the CEO role and divide the responsibilities with his brother, Ron Chapman.

Additionally, Coronado announced the promotion of Clinton Smith from director of sales to chief commercial officer. Smith had been with Coronado for a decade. In his new role, Smith will be focused on sales growth, while working with the marketing and business development teams.

Coronado is also adding a new level of vice president roles, with the promotions of Eddie Buchannon to VP of Business Development and Melody Crisp to VP of Marketing.

“My goal coming into this new position was elevate the people who have worked hard to grow the business and the brand over the past several years,” Murray said. “I wanted to make sure that the Senior Leadership team was equipped to continue forward with the momentum they have created.”

Coronado’s distributor depletion trends are up 12% year-over-year, while wholesaler shipments are up 8%.

Monday Night Brewing Adds Director of People and Culture

Atlanta, Georgia-headquartered Monday Night Brewing has hired Jill Matherson as its director of people and culture.

Matherson will be tasked with overseeing the craft brewery’s talent management and work directly with its executive team to “strengthen and solidify” its culture, according to a press release.

“In just a couple of years, we’ve moved from a small company with just a few employees, to a much larger organization — with multiple locations,” Monday Night Brewing co-founder and CEO Jeff Heck said in the release. “We value our employees and the culture we’ve built so far, and know it can be a challenge maintaining that as we grow. We’re fortunate Jill is now on the team to make sure we’re living up to our core values as a company.”

Matherson joins Monday Night from outside of the beer industry. She worked for more than 26 years at IKEA, most recently serving as an area manager and working in leadership training.

“The culture at Monday Night Brewing was why I joined,” she said. “I wanted to be part of this valued team – learning and growing together to make us the best brewery in Atlanta and beyond!”

Monday Night operates two taprooms in Atlanta and plans to open a third in Birmingham, Alabama, in 2020.

Joshua Allen Heck Exits Oregon’s Silver Moon Brewing

Silver Moon Brewing director of sales Joshua Allen Heck has departed the Bend, Oregon-based craft brewery.

Heck, an 18-year industry veteran, joined Silver Moon in July.

Prior to joining Silver Moon, Heck held several sales roles within Anheuser-Busch InBev’s “High End” craft beer division in Oregon and Utah.

Before joining A-B, Heck worked in sales for Portland, Oregon-based wholesaler General Distributors prior to its acquisition by Columbia Distributing in January 2018.

Speaking to Brewbound, Heck said he’s eager to continue his sales career in the beer industry.

“I want to go somewhere that has an amazing culture and amazing values and can see what I offer them as well,” he said.