John Mallett to Exit Bell’s in February
Industry veteran John Mallett will depart from Bell’s Brewery next month, after more than 20 years with the Comstock, Michigan-based brewery.
News of the departure comes exactly a year after Mallett was placed in the role of VP of brewing and quality for both Bell’s and New Belgium Brewing, helping oversee the integration of the two companies after Bell’s was acquired by New Belgium’s parent company, Kirin-owned Lion Little World Beverages.
Now that the integration is complete, Mallett has made the decision to “take a step back and devote more time to his family and hobbies, such as skiing and sailing,” a Bell’s spokesperson told Brewbound.
“John’s contributions to Bell’s, and to the entire craft beer community, are truly impossible to measure or even say out loud,” Bell’s EVP Carrie Yunker said in a press release. “He’s a brilliant brewer and a visionary operator who brings a strong sense of passion and a willingness to bust through constraints to every beer he makes and every life he touches. We will all miss John’s humor, wit, and steady presence in the brewery, but his legacy isn’t going anywhere. We wish him the very best.”
Mallett has been brewing craft beer for more than 35 years, holding positions at Commonwealth Brewery (Boston) and Old Dominion Brewing Co. (Ashburn, Virgina), before joining Bell’s in 2001. At the time, Bell’s was breaking ground on its now-main brewing facility in Comstock, Michigan. Bell’s grew to be the sixth-largest Brewers Association-defined craft brewery by volume in 2021, producing 490,000 barrels of beer.
While at Bell’s, Mallett was a “driving force behind the commitment to both quality and
safety that the company is known for today,” helping to establish “robust teams and
processes focused specifically on best-in-class quality standards and safety-always protocols,” according to the release.
“As volume growth continued to demand numerous expansions and build outs of the Comstock, Michigan, brewery, Mallett remained committed to growing manufacturing capabilities responsibly, with a focus on protecting our resources for generations to come,” the company wrote.
In 2021, Bell’s celebrated Mallett’s 20th anniversary with the company by launching the John Mallet Scholarship, which helps fund an individual’s studies at the Master Brewers Association of the Americas. Bell’s committed to funding the scholarship – which debuted in 2022 – for the first three years, including covering registration and travel for the awardee. Bell’s founder Larry Bell also donated $125,000 to the fund “in an effort to permanently endow the scholarship,” according to a press release.
“As I reflect on my 20+ years of working out of Comstock, the brightest point by far is the relationships I’ve built with coworkers, beer fans, farmers, researchers, suppliers, tradespersons, students, the media, publicans, design professionals, educators, distributors, regulators and fellow brewers,” Mallett said in Wednesday’s release. “I can say without hesitation or doubt, that this has been an experience beyond my wildest dreams. The brands and breweries we’ve built together are impressive, but the people and teams behind these achievements deserve a far greater spotlight. Leading these teams has been a true honor for me professionally, and I know the leadership and all the coworkers at Bell’s remain steadfast in their commitment to always making world class beer.”
There are no plans to fill Mallett’s position at this time, according to the Bell’s spokesperson, noting that “the impact John’s had on the brewery – and the craft beer community – is irreplaceable, but he has done an excellent job of training and preparing the leaders in place at Bell’s today to continue this work in his absence.”
Ex-Constellation and Beam Suntory Exec Appointed President and COO of Provi
Provi, a beverage-alcohol e-commerce marketplace, has appointed Bob Robbins president and chief operating officer.
Robbins has more than a decade of experience in bev-alc and CPG-related roles, including VP of sales strategy at Constellation Brands and senior director of field sales and strategy roles at Beam Suntory. Most recently, he worked as president Americas and chief growth officer at Juul Labs, an electronic cigarette company. Robbins spent four years at Juul, witnessing the company grow from 12 employees to 1,150 and from a valuation of $300 million to $38 billion, according to a press release.
In his new role, Robbins will oversee Provi’s “day-to-day operations and long-term growth,” reporting directly to founder and CEO Taylor Katzman, according to the release.
“I am thrilled to join Provi and continue the momentum of solving for a real industry-wide challenge,” Robbins said in the release. “Throughout my career in the beverage alcohol industry, discovering and ordering products has been a tremendous pain point. I am looking forward to growing our footprint and bringing operational efficiencies to trade buyers, distributors and suppliers at scale.”
David Bower Named Director of Growth at BrewLogix
Former Upland Brewing president David Bower has returned to bev-alc, joining BrewLogix – a beverage technology solutions company – as director of growth.
Bower spent nearly six years at Bloomington, Indiana-based Upland, before transitioning in 2022 to VP of sales at Wildpack Beverage, a national beverage co-packing and packaging supplier. That role lasted two weeks and Bower took a brief departure from beer to join Demandwell, a tech startup that – while a different industry than bev-alc – was “surprisingly reminiscent of the sky-is-the-limit optimism and energy of the earlier days of craft beer,” Bower told Brewbound in July.
Bower has also held sales, marketing and leadership roles at Sun King Brewing, Smoking Goose and Monarch Beverage Company.
At BrewLogix, Bower will join the senior leadership team, helping the company grow its “go-to-market strategy development, sales operations, deal coaching and marketing consultation,” according to a press release.
The news comes a month after BrewLogix launched its new Performance Platform, a “real-time draft inventory, tracking and management solution” program.
“After years of holding leadership positions throughout the craft beer industry, I’m excited to bring a solution to the market that speaks to many of the operational challenges inherent in draft beer storage and service,” Bower said in the release. “Speaking from experience, many draft beer program operators have accepted certain limitations and inefficiencies as the cost of doing business. BrewLogix provides a game changing level of insight and automation in our new Performance Platform that will change the way we think about draft beer service.”
DISCUS Names Denzel McGuire Chief of Federal and State Government Relations
The Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS) has named Denzel McGuire chief of federal and state government relations, effective January 25.
McGuire, a Capitol Hill veteran, will be responsible for the “overall strategic direction of DISCUS’s legislative agenda, including “overseeing government relations activities at both the state and federal levels and developing comprehensive strategies to reduce excessive regulatory and legislative burdens impacting the distilled spirits industry and spirits consumers,” according to a press release.
“Denzel brings to DISCUS more than 20 years’ experience in government relations, grassroots and coalition building,” DISCUS president and CEO Chris Swonger said in the release. “Her extensive Capitol Hill, White House and trade association experience will be an incredible asset to DISCUS as we communicate to policymakers at the federal and state levels about critical issues impacting the spirits industry and our consumers.”
Denzel’s Capitol Hill work includes several leadership positions with Senate Republicans, including chief policy advisor to Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), deputy chief of staff to Sen. John Kyl (R-AZ) and chief of staff to Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH). Most recently, she worked as the principal of McGuire LLC, “a legislative, regulatory and advocacy firm specializing in budget, education and workforce issues,” according to the release.
Anthony Liberta Named National Accounts Manager at Downeast Cider
Anthony Liberta has joined Boston-based Downeast Cider as national accounts manager.
Liberta announced the news on LinkedIn last week.
Liberta has worked in bev-alc for more than a decade, most recently serving as key account director at Charlotte, North Carolina-based Artisanal Brewing Ventures (ABV), a brewery roll up that includes Victory Brewing, Southern Tier, Sixpoint Brewery and Bold Rock Cider. The move comes a month after ABV announced the restructuring of its sales force, which included cutting “a handful” of sales roles, in an effort to focus more on off-premise retailers.
Liberta has also held leadership, sales and marketing roles at Founders Brewing, New Belgium and Try-It Distributing Co.