Lou Romano Exits Beer Industry After 15 Years
Lou Romano, who had served as president of Flying Fish Brewing for the last three years, is exiting the Somerdale, New Jersey-based craft brewery.
“For the last 15 years, I’ve worked alongside some great people in the brewing industry. After careful contemplation, I’ve decided to step away and join an organization I’m very excited about,” he wrote in a LinkedIn post.
Romano thanked everyone who helped him in the beer industry, “especially the Flying Fish crew that I’ve been honored to work beside for the last three years.”
“We’ve made some serious strides! I’m so proud that I’ll be able to stay associated as part of the Board, and I know I have some lifelong friends,” he wrote. “Thank you.”
In a message to Brewbound, Romano said he’s exiting the beer industry and joining KCF Technologies in State College, Pennsylvania. Romano will be working on “sales and strategy” for KCF, which he said “applies wireless sensors and monitoring to key manufacturing equipment to optimize machine health and predict breakdowns.”
Prior to joining Flying Fish in 2017, Romano spent four years as national sales manager of Oskar Blues Brewery. He started his beer industry career working for Yuengling in January 2008, where he was director of marketing and wholesaler development.
Kyle Ingram Named Brand Director at Sierra Nevada
Sierra Nevada has appointed Kyle Ingram as its brand director. Ingram joined the Chico, California-headquartered craft brewery earlier this month.
In his new role, Ingram will be charged with leading brand marketing and new product development across Sierra Nevada’s portfolio.
Ingram joins Sierra Nevada after a year as VP of marketing at hard kombucha maker Flying Embers.
Prior to joining Flying Embers, Ingram spent a year and a half at the CANarchy Brewery Collective, last working as VP of marketing. He joined CANarchy in June 2018 as brand marketing director.
Cameron Davis Joins Talking Rain’s Sparkling Ice Spiked
After four years of leading the marketing efforts at Atlanta Brewing Company, Cameron Davis is leaving the craft brewery to manage the marketing of Talking Rain Beverage Company’s new alcoholic beverage portfolio, which launched with Sparkling Ice Spiked in August (4% ABV, 80 calories).
At Talking Rain, Davis will be charged with helping launch Sparkling Ice Spiked nationally. Davis’ first day on the job was November 19.
During her tenure at Atlanta Brewing, she helped lead a complete rebrand of Georgia’s oldest craft brewery.
Marty Compton Exits Ninkasi
Marty Compton has departed Ninkasi Brewing after nearly three years. Compton had worked as national sales director for the Eugene, Oregon-headquartered craft brewery.
According to Compton’s LinkedIn page, he “led [a] return to sales growth in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, devastating wildfires, and several senior leadership changes,” while also managing “distributor relationships, team accountabilities, budgets, and pricing across [the] entire footprint.”
Compton joined Ninkasi in 2017 after nearly a decade as director of sales at Kalamazoo, Michigan-headquartered Bell’s Brewery.
Compton told Brewbound that he’s looking to stay in the beer business or related industries. He added that he’s willing to relocate for the right fit. Those looking to connect with Compton can do so via LinkedIn.