Boston Beer Appoints New Chief Supply Chain Officer
Boston Beer Company has appointed Philip Hodges chief supply chain officer, according to an 8-K filing, submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission last week.
Hodges has served as a supply chain management advisor for Boston Beer since May 2022, following senior VP of supply chain Quincy B. Troupe’s departure from the company. In his new role, Hodges will oversee Boston Beer’s supply chain, including brewery management, engineering, safety and production quality, reporting directly to CEO David Burwick, according to the filing.
Hodges has more than 30 years of senior operations experience in consumer packaged goods, according to a press release. Before joining Boston Beer, he spent five years as executive vice president of group supply chain for Copenhagen-based brewery Carlsberg. He also spent time as group director and chief supply chain officer for SABMiller and senior VP of integrated supply chain Europe for Mondelez International, a multinational beverage and snack food company.
“Phil has influenced our supply chain approach since he first started consulting with us last year,” Burwick said in the release. “The supply chain team has been working hard to modernize our supply chain through investments in equipment and process and by implementing thoughtful, gross margin savings plans. We’re looking forward to the significant impact Phil will now make in his new leadership position as our CSCO as we seek to generate substantial gross margin expansion from our supply chain over the next few years.”
Hodge’s new position includes a base salary of $615,000, with a bonus – contingent on company performance – of up to 60% of his base salary (about $369,000). He will be granted two one-time equity awards, as part of the company’s Long Term Equity Program, as well as performance-based equity awards, according to the filing.
Mark Anthony Names New Global and U.S. Marketing Leadership
In an effort to “enhance” its marketing structure, Mark Anthony Brands has named Isabelle Sakai global chief marketing officer.
Mark Anthony Brands’ portfolio includes top-selling beyond beer offerings White Claw Hard Seltzer, Mike’s Hard Lemonade, Cayman Jack and MXD. To continue building the company’s “global premium drinks business,” Mark Anthony Brands has made “significant investments” in its marketing structure to drive growth and brand equity, a company spokesperson told Brewbound. Sakai’s appointment is part of that investment, with the global CMO starting April 1.
Also as part of the “structural evolution,” chief marketing officer John Shea has departed Mark Anthony Brands after three years with the company. The company’s U.S. marketing plans will be led by Kevin Brady.
Brady has spent more than 13 years at the company, most recently serving as VP of regional integrated marketing for Mike’s Hard Lemonade.
Dan Wandel, Mark Anthony Brands senior director of insights, recently spoke about the company’s growth strategy during Beer Marketer’s Insights’ spring business conference. The company is focused on dominating the “flavor category,” with flavored malt beverages (FMBs) and White Claw. More on Wandel’s comments can be read here.
Wiseacre Names First Chief Operating Officer
Wiseacre Brewing Company has named Amanda Thompson chief operating officer (COO).
Thompson has worked at the Memphis, Tennessee-based brewery for more than seven years, starting as a taproom bartender, rising “through the ranks to become an essential member of the leadership team,” according to a company spokesperson. She most recently served chief of staff and operations manager and was included in the Memphis Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 list last year.
“Davin and I value Amanda’s opinions and insights tremendously, and we are grateful for her ability to recognize challenges and her assertiveness about how to address them,” Wiseacre co-founder Kellan Bartosch said in a press release. “Amanda has done all of this with a great attitude, patience, a sense of humor, creativity, and showing the world that ‘everything is figure-outable.’ Beyond work functions, her contributions to company culture have been massive.
“Her title change is both a recognition of the work she has done across many departments and a reflection of additional levels of responsibility that she’ll take on as Wiseacre continues to grow,” he continued.
Thompson is Wiseacre’s first COO since its founding in 2013. Her responsibilities will include helping the company’s staff manage a production increase as it expands its distribution footprint, including its entry into central and south Florida last week. The company now distributes its beers, including flagship pilsner Tiny Bomb, in 20 states, plus Washington, D.C.
Wiseacre was the 105th largest regional craft brewery by volume in 2022, according to the Brewers Association’s (BA) May/June New Brewer Magazine. The company produced 26,490 barrels of beer in 2022, a +9% increase year-over-year (YoY), its third consecutive year of annual production growth.
Crooked Hammock Appoints New Brewmaster
Crooked Hammock Brewery has a new leader overseeing its brews.
Larry Horwitz has been named brewmaster and director of brewing operations at the Lewes, Delaware-based craft brewery. Horwitz has held brewmaster positions at several craft breweries, including Louisville, Kentucky-based Ten20 Brewery, Columbus, Ohio-based Four String Brewing Company and North Wales, Pennsylvania-based Iron Hill Brewery.
Horwitz is a graduate of the Masters Brewers Association of the Americas’ malting and brewing science program at the University of Wisconsin and the American Brewers Guild brewery science and engineering program. He is also chair of the BA’s draft beer quality subcommittee and a judge for the Great American Beer Festival (GABF) and World Beer Cup.
Crooked Hammock produced an estimated 4,500 barrels of beer in 2022, a +3% increase year-over-year, according to the BA. The increase follows three consecutive years of double-digit production growth, including a +96% increase in 2021. It was the No. 6 largest Northeast region brewpub by volume in 2022, below Iron Hill, Moat Mountain Brewing Co., Blue Mountain Brewery, Adirondack Pub and Brewery and Triple Crossing Brewing Company.