Lord Hobo Brewing Co. has appointed industry veteran Brian Walsh as the Woburn, Massachusetts-based craft brewery’s new CEO.
The company informed employees today that Walsh, who last served as CEO of Smuttynose Brewing Company, has assumed the post from Lord Hobo founder Daniel Lanigan, who will remain a member of the company’s board of directors. Walsh’s first day in the new post was today.
In addition to Walsh’s hiring, Lord Hobo has appointed long-time beer industry exec Simon Thorpe and Wendy Nowokunski, a director of the private investment firm that acquired a stake in Lord Hobo in 2017, to the brewery’s board of directors.
The leadership moves at Lord Hobo follow Lanigan’s name appearing in posts among the thousands of Instagram stories shared by both Brienne Allan (@ratmagnet) and Embolden Act Advance (@EmboldenActAdvance) from women who have experienced harassment, misogyny and assaults while working in the beer industry. Lanigan was specifically referenced in at least three posts making allegations that he made advances to female employees.
Following those stories, Lord Hobo president Nathan Whipple posted an apology to Lord Hobo’s social media accounts, announced an investigation into the allegations and affirmed the brewery’s commitment “to providing a safe community, free of harassment, bullying and discrimination in all forms for our employees, industry partners, and customers.”
“As the president of this company, it is important that you hear this clearly from me — this behavior is unacceptable in our society, in our industry and at Lord Hobo,” he wrote.
Walsh steps into the lead role of a brewery that was once among the fastest growing in the U.S., with distribution in 15 states. Lord Hobo’s production declined 36%, to 30,075 barrels of beer, in 2020, according to production data in the Brewers Association’s May/June issue of The New Brewer. Those declines indicate the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Lord Hobo’s at-the-brewery business.
At Smuttynose, Walsh helped lead the post-bankruptcy turnaround of the New Hampshire craft brewery. He brings several years of high-level executive experience to Lord Hobo, including stints as president and CEO of both Pittsburgh Brewing Co. and Long Trail Brewing Co. prior to taking the reins of Smuttynose. In the early 2000s, he served as VP and general manager of Labatt USA’s northeast division.
The makeup of the eight-member board is as follows: Nowokunski, who is the first woman to serve on the company’s board, Scott Macintosh, Drew Reid and Jim Coughlin, as representatives of Valterra Partners, the boutique private investment firm that acquired a stake in the business in September 2017; Thorpe as an independent board member; Lanigan; Lord Hobo president Nathan Whipple; and a yet-to-be appointed candidate.
Thorpe most recently led Kirin-owned Lion Little World Beverages’ U.S. operations, helping orchestrate the acquisition of New Belgium Brewing Company in November 2019. He previously served as CEO of Pabst Brewing Co. and president and CEO of Duvel Moortgat USA.
Nowokunski is the co-founder and president of the Northbridge Companies, a provider of senior housing and services with 18 communities in New England.