Left Hand Brewing has added three directors to its board, including former Brewers Association (BA) craft beer program director Julia Herz, the brewery announced today.
Herz along with Connect for Health Colorado CEO Kevin Patterson and attorney Anton V. Dworak will join the board of the Longmont, Colorado-headquartered craft brewery. For Left Hand, the restructuring of its board of directors “deepens and diversifies fields of experience in the brewery’s advisory team, strengthens community ties, and increases stock value for current employee-owners and shareholders,” the brewery said in a press release.
All three new board members hold equity in the company, a Left Hand spokesperson said but did not disclose the amount of their stakes.
Left Hand’s existing board members include co-founder and president Eric Wallace, chief operating officer Chris Lennert, Ziegler Capital Management senior vice president and senior portfolio manager Mark Burka, and Jeff Mendel, who co-founded Tabernash Brewing and the Colorado Brewers Guild.
“Over the past two decades, our board’s beer industry knowledge, entrepreneurial outlook, and financial planning have been very strong,” Wallace said in the release. “Julia, Anton, and Kevin are not only bringing to the board fresh perspectives on our industry, they also are strengthening our depth of experience in the legal field, governance and government, marketing, public service, and in the nonprofit sector.”
Earlier this year, Left Hand tripled its Employee Stock Ownership Program’s (ESOP) share of the company, from 3% to 9%, by “repurchasing stock from original shareholders and previous board members, paving the way for adding new members to the board,” according to the release.
The three new board members possess extensive experience leading nonprofit organizations. Patterson serves on the leadership council of the Denver Zoological Foundation and on the board of trustees for Mile High United Way. Dworak serves on the boards of directors for multiple organizations and institutions, including Longmont United Hospital, the Longmont Area Chamber of Commerce and the Twin Peaks Rotary Club. Herz founded Gray for Good for All Womanhood, a global campaign that urges women to save money that would have been spent on hair coloring and donate it to women- and girls-focused causes.
Since she was laid off by the Brewers Association amid pandemic-driven budget cuts last year, Herz has founded HerzMuses Enterprises, a consulting firm that supports small businesses and nonprofits.
Before becoming CEO of Connect for Health Colorado, the state’s official health insurance marketplace, Patterson worked in former Gov. John Hickenlooper’s administration as chief administrative officer and interim chief of staff.
Dworak, a fourth-generation resident of Longmont, is a shareholder at Lyons Gaddis Attorneys & Counselors, where his law practice focuses on business, real estate, estate planning, probate and tax law, according to the release.
“We know that staying an employee-owned, independent company means we are willing to do this the hard way. We see our board as a strategic advantage,” Wallace said in the release. “Without the deep pockets that acquisition has given others in the industry, we need to work smarter. Having a solid, diversified, and experienced Board is one way to continue to compete with more limited resources.”
Wallace and his friend and fellow U.S. Air Force member Dick Doore founded Left Hand in 1994, and grew the brand with its nitrogenated offerings, including flagship Milk Stout Nitro. Left Hand was the 47th largest craft brewery in the country by volume in 2020, according to the BA.
Left Hand’s production volume has declined steadily since its 2016 peak of 73,511 barrels. During the pandemic-challenged 2020, the brewery’s volume declined -16%, to 50,852 barrels.
Left Hand Brewing Foundation and Colorado Brewers Guild Bring Back ‘Colorado Strong’
In other Left Hand news, the brewery’s philanthropic arm, the Left Hand Brewing Foundation, t and the Colorado Brewers Guild (CBG) today announced the return of Colorado Strong, a collaboration beer initiative to raise funds to support the state’s craft beer industry.
Participants in the collaboration are asked to donate 20% of proceeds to the Colorado chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness and the CBG to support membership fees and supportive programing for members.
“The Colorado Strong Fund was born out of need due to COVID-19, but what we realized is when the ‘State of Craft Beer’ and suppliers team up we can make an even greater impact,” CBG executive director Shawnee Adelson said in the release. “Because Colorado is strong, the Colorado Strong Fund will be an ongoing effort. We are so pleased to be supporting NAMI this year as mental health has been an increased focus for the craft brewing industry and all industries through this pandemic.”
This year’s Colorado Strong recipe is an IPA with Colorado-grown ingredients, including Genie Pale and Vienna malt from Loveland-based Root Shoot Malting; and Chinook, Cascade and Cashmere hops from Platteville-based Colorado Hop Company. The recipe was developed by Dave Bergen of Edgewater-based Joyride Brewing Company and Jason Ford of Breckenridge-based Broken Compass Brewing Company.
“By visiting participating breweries that are pouring Colorado Strong, community members are not only supporting the breweries themselves, but also the local vendors who supplied the beer ingredients as well as an important non-profit near and dear to the brewing industry’s heart. It’s truly a win-win for our community,” Left Hand Brewing Foundation development manager Megan Mahar said in the release.
Participating breweries are expected to release Colorado Strong beginning in November.
Editor’s note: this story was updated at 10:30 a.m. ET on Friday, September 3 to reflect that the new board members hold equity in the company and the role the board plays in advising Left Hand’s executive team.