Sierra Nevada Brewing yesterday named Jeff White as the company’s first chief operating officer.
White, who began with the Chico, Calif.-based craft brewery in 2013 as its systems integration director, will bring more than 30 years of brewing industry experience to the newly created COO position.
“With Jeff as COO, some of my time will be freed up to focus on the areas of the business that I’m passionate about,” founder and president Ken Grossman said via a press release. “He’s also charged with bringing our organizational design and development to life. Our Leadership Team has been working on organizational design for some time, and with Jeff at the helm we’ll be able to make great strides forward.”
White previously served as the senior director of strategy and operations for Tenth and Blake, the craft and import division of MillerCoors, and held the COO position at Boston Beer Company for more than 17 years (1989 — 2007).
“I was very excited to come work at Sierra Nevada after having admired the company for a long time,” White said via the release. “Since joining, the people, products and culture have exceeded my already lofty expectations. It’s been an incredible ride these last three years and I look forward to many more at this exciting period in the company’s development.”
Sierra Nevada had one of its best years in 2015, growing production 15 percent to more than 1.2 million barrels, according to Brewers Association records. Year-to-date volume sales (through July 10) are down about 3.5 percent in grocery and convenience stores, however, according to data from market research firm IRI Worldwide.