Beer industry writer Josh Noel is leaving the Chicago Tribune to join Molson Coors as the Chicago-headquartered beverage company’s corporate communications manager.
Noel’s last day with the Tribune, where he has worked since 2005, was Friday, January 6. His first day in his new role is January 23.
“I had a fantastic run at the Chicago Tribune and was privileged to help chronicle the rise of a craft beer industry that boomed during the last decade while also watching and contextualizing the chess moves of the larger beer companies,” Noel told Brewbound. “Along the way I developed a lot of admiration for Molson Coors, and when it was time to move on from newspapers, it became a logical place for the next step. I’m excited to learn, to share what I can and to be a part of the industry.”
Noel’s hiring was shared with Molson Coors’ workforce over the lunch hour on Friday.
“Josh has spent the better part of two decades telling some of the greatest stories I’ve ever read about the beer business,” Rachel Dickens, Molson Coors’ senior director of communications and corporate affairs, told Brewbound. “We couldn’t be more excited for him to bring that same level of knowledge and passion to our team as he starts his next chapter.”
Noel will be tasked with spearheading the company’s national and local media relations in North America. He will report to Dickens.
In 2018, Noel authored Barrel-Aged Stout and Selling Out: Goose Island, Anheuser-Busch and How Craft Beer Became Big Business.