Following the acquisition of Bell’s Brewery earlier this week, Lion Little World Beverages said managing director Matt Tapper will exit the company next year after a 25-year career, and New Belgium CEO Steve Fechheimer will lead the company’s U.S. craft brewery platform.
Tapper, who moved from Australia to the United States in 2020 following the acquisition of New Belgium, had served in the managing director role for the last six years. He’ll continue to guide the company’s U.K. craft beer and U.S. fine wine business until his exit, according to a press release posted to Australian Brews News.
Fechheimer, the former spirits executive who took the helm of New Belgium in July 2017 and has guided the company through its acquisition by Kirin-owned Lion in 2019, will also join Lion’s Group Leadership team and report to CEO Stuart Irvine, effective January 2022.
Earlier this week, Lion announced the planned acquisition of Bell’s Brewery, which is expected to close in the next couple of months, pending regulatory approval and customary closing conditions. Arlington Capital Advisors served in a financial advisory role to Bell’s in the deal, as it did with New Belgium two years ago.
For more on the transaction, read: Bell’s Brewery to Sell to New Belgium Parent Co. Lion; Larry Bell to Retire
Tapper will exit Lion at the end of March 2022.
“Matt’s leadership and strategic foresight has created a strong platform for growth in the U.S. with the successful acquisition of New Belgium in 2019 and Bell’s Brewing announced this week,” Irvine said in a press release. “We thank Matt for his entrepreneurial spirit and passion and wish him all the best for the future.”
For his part, Tapper said: “I’m especially proud of establishing a new business over the past six years – from that first small micro-brewery in Hong Kong, to Little Creatures becoming the No. 1 craft beer in Singapore, through to major acquisitions in the UK and establishing ourselves as a leader in U.S. craft with New Belgium and now Bell’s.
“Each step we have taken has been smarter, bolder and bigger – I’ve enjoyed every minute of it. I wish my Lion and Kirin colleagues every success for the future.”
Tapper said he’s “looking forward to spending an Australian summer with my family after two years in the U.S. and I’m long overdue a beer with my Lion colleagues and friends in Australia and New Zealand.”
Tapper’s departure from Lion follows a similar departure by deal maker Simon Thorpe, who exited the role of managing director of the international brewing giant’s U.S. craft business unit in August 2020 following the acquisition of New Belgium.
As for Bell’s founder Larry Bell, he penned a letter to Kalamazoo, discussing the deal and his retirement. Click here to read the letter.