Lawson’s Finest Liquids has named Adeline Druart as the 15-year-old Vermont craft brewery’s second CEO.
Lawson’s founders Sean and Karen Lawson made the hire public today, appointing Druart as the successor to Sean Lawson.
Druart joins Lawson’s after serving as president of Vermont Creamery and VP of Land O’Lakes’ Dairy Foods Division. Although Druart’s official full-time start date is in September, she has already begun the onboarding process.
Sean Lawson told Brewbound that the brewery is “poised for the next stage of success and growth for the company.”
“That’s why we’re bringing in a seasoned business leader who understands the product and people to help us grow the organization and lead our brand into the next stage,” he continued.
Druart joins Lawson’s as the business has an established craft brand leader, with its signature Sip of Sunshine IPA, and distribution reaching nine northeastern states. She also finds herself in a parallel situation to the one at Vermont Creamery, where she led the transition from founder-owners and shepherded the company through gaining B Corporation certification. Last week, Lawson’s revealed its own B Corp certification.
“When I was looking for my next chapter in my career, I was like, ‘what is as passionate as cheese, where the community is very engaged, it’s about the craft, it’s for the purpose and the story of the maker,’” said Druart, who is French. “And beer seems such a great pair.”
Druart made a “wish list” of companies in Vermont and across the U.S. that she admired and Lawson’s was near the top of the list. She’d known the Lawsons from business leadership groups in Vermont.
In a serendipitous twist, Sean Lawson shared that he was looking to step back and hire an outside CEO.
“I just really had goosebumps,” Druart said. “I’m like, ‘Oh my god, this is it.’ I couldn’t sleep. And then the next day, I said, ‘Can we talk?’ and then we went on this journey together.”
The Lawsons had discussed making a leadership move for a couple of years, but decided near the end of last year that the time was right. They were seeking someone with “a demonstrated track record of success, as well as a focus on values and impact that the company makes in the world.” Druart fit the bill.
“She’s no stranger coming into the business,” Sean Lawson said. “We’ve known each other for a few years and so as we turned to look for a CEO, when she first shared her interests with me, I had the same goosebump moment where I was just wowed that a person of her caliber in business would be interested in coming to work with our team.”
Karen Lawson added: “What I’m really excited about with Adeline leadership at Lawson’s Finest is really embedding our values even deeper than where we are now.”
As the Lawsons discussed making a change, selling the company was not a consideration, Sean Lawson shared. The mantra of the business is building a company “to thrive, not to sell.”
“So the next chapter of scaling the company and growing it will be to build our legacy, not to find an exit for the company owner,” he continued. “So as long as we’re around, we’ll continue to be brand stewards and ambassadors, so that we can build upon the success that we’ve worked so hard to achieve over the first 15 years.”
As part of the transition, Sean Lawson will hand over management of Lawson’s team of senior managers to Druart. Passing leadership to Druart will allow Lawson “to focus on the vision for the future to build the legacy of our brand.” Lawson plans to focus on making new beers on Lawson’s pilot system in Warren, serving as a brand ambassador and building relationships with key stakeholders and Lawson’s fans.
“The greatest accomplishment of all is that Lawson’s Finest and our Sip of Sunshine IPA continues to be a household name another 10, 20, 30 years – beyond our walk on the planet,” he said.
Karen Lawson told Brewbound that she has been overseeing the company’s Social Impact Programs (SIP) since Lawson’s taproom opened in October 2018. SIP has raised nearly $2 million to “support vulnerable populations, sustainable recreation, and environmental conservation,” the company shared.
The company is on the verge of bringing on a new SIP manager who will handle the daily work with community relations non-profit organizations.
“I’m really excited to just keep getting deeper and more strategic and being able to think further ahead and how we do that as a business,” Karen Lawson said.
Earlier this year, Lawson’s added Hazy Rays IPA (5.3% ABV) to its year-round Sunshine family. Sean Lawson said the company has “sold more than double what we initially projected.”
Lawson’s is projecting a growth year in 2023 after finishing 2022 “flat from a revenue standpoint” with volume down “slightly” by “a couple of percent,” Sean Lawson told Brewbound in April.
“We’re very happy that we have positive growth in an otherwise flat or declining craft beer segment,” Lawson said this week. “So we’re gonna continue to innovate and speak to what the marketplace is demanding and what people are gravitating toward in terms of beer and flavor.”