Rich Lozyniak will step down as CEO of North American Breweries, its parent company Florida Ice & Farm Co. (FIFCO) announced on Friday. He will officially relinquish duties upon the naming of his replacement.
“Rich has been a tremendous leader in a time of great transition. He is an expert at building organizations and navigating change,” FIFCO CEO Ram├│n Mendiola said in a statement from the company. “He has done an excellent job building North American Breweries to its current state. However, he recently expressed a desire to find an opportunity to do what he does best, which is to build and turn around companies. We thank him for his many contributions.”
Lozyniak elaborated further on his ability to help steer struggling companies back on track in an article from the Democrat & Chronicle.
“The really good news is we took a company, Genesee, that was struggling and now it’s thriving,” he told the website. “The company’s in a really good place. I love the people here, I love the brand. But I felt on a personal level and for NAB it was time for a change.”
NAB┬┤s Vice President of Marketing Peter Bodenham will also be departing from the company.
“He is credited for driving significant growth among North American Breweries’ portfolio of brands,” according to the statement. “Bodenham also sparked many product innovations over the years including some that will be rolled out in 2014.”
James Pendegraft, who has served as the company’s vice president of sales, will take over for him.
NAB was originally formed following KPS Capital Partners’ acquisitions of the Genesee Brewery and Labatt USA in 2009. Losyniak’s replacement will be the company’s second CEO.
The full release is below:
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Florida Ice & Farm Co. (FIFCO), parent-company of North American Breweries (NAB), today announced that Rich Lozyniak will step down as chief executive officer. He will continue to lead NAB until a new CEO is named.
Lozyniak became the first CEO of North American Breweries in 2009, following the acquisition of The Genesee Brewery and Labatt USA by KPS Capital Partners. According to Ram├│n Mendiola, Chief Executive Officer for FlFCO, Lozyniak is credited with building the NAB organization from the ground up, re-invigorating the Genesee Brewery, assembling a strong craft beer brand portfolio and creating a solid organization. FIFCO acquired NAB in 2012.
“Rich has been a tremendous leader in a time of great transition. He is an expert at building organizations and navigating change,” said Mendiola. “He has done an excellent job building North American Breweries to its current state. However, he recently expressed a desire to find an opportunity to do what he does best, which is to build and turn around companies. We thank him for his many contributions.”
A national search is underway to find a new CEO to lead NAB, which operates several breweries and alehouses across the United States and imports leading beer brands into the U.S. FIFCO hopes to conclude the search by the end of the first quarter.
In addition to the CEO change, NAB┬┤s Vice President of Marketing Peter Bodenham has also decided to leave the company. Bodenham worked for the company for nearly 20 years under various owners. He is credited for driving significant growth among North American Breweries’ portfolio of brands. Bodenham also sparked many product innovations over the years including some that will be rolled out in 2014.
“Peter has been a key player in building the North American Breweries organization. He has made a tremendous impact on our portfolio of brands,” said Mendiola. “After evaluating his career, he expressed interest in returning to Canada where his tenure in the beer industry began with InBev. We appreciate all that Peter has done to help build NAB.”
James Pendegraft will assume the role of vice president of sales and marketing. In this new role, Pendegraft will lead all facets of commercial operations. He has worked for the organization since 2003 in a variety of high level sales and marketing roles.
About North American Breweries
North American Breweries is one of the largest beer companies in the United States. NAB brews, packages, imports, markets and sells its branded product portfolio through an independent network of wholesalers throughout the U.S. Brands include: Labatt, Genesee, Seagram’s Escapes, Magic Hat, Pyramid, the Original Honey Brown Lager, Dundee Ales & Lagers and Portland Brewing. NAB also performs contract brewing of beer and other alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages on behalf of other companies. NAB is also the U.S. importer of Imperial from Costa Rica. Headquartered in Rochester, New York, NAB operates breweries and alehouses across the United States, including its flagship brewery, the Genesee Brewery in Rochester, NY, which is one of the longest continually-operating breweries in the United States For more information, please visit www.nabreweries.com.
North American Breweries is owned by FIFCO, a publicly traded Costa Rican company. The parent company produces and distributes, through its subsidiaries, food and beverages in Central America and the United States. Its headquarters are located in San José, Costa Rica, and it has operations in Guatemala and El Salvador. FIFCO has more than 2,700 products including beer, wine, spirits as well as bottled water, juices, nectars, tea, carbonated soft drinks, energy drinks, milk, refried beans, tomato conserves, ketchup and bakery products.