A key member of Stone Brewing Co. has stepped down after 16 years with the company.
Arlan Arnsten, who served as Stone’s senior vice president of sales, announced Thursday that he was leaving the company “to pursue interests outside of the craft beer industry.” Coinciding with his departure, Arnsten announced the promotion of Jason Armstrong to director of national sales, a new position at Stone.
In his five years with Stone, Armstrong previously served as a regional brewery representative in Texas and a regional sales manager in Louisiana, Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota and Illinois. As the director of national sales, he will oversee all of Stone’s sales to distributors throughout the continental United States. All of Stone’s regional sales managers and regional brewery representatives will report to him.
Arnsten announced that he was resigning from Stone in a statement published on the Brewers Association website. He noted that his time at Stone has been the most rewarding professional experience of his life and thanked Steve Wagner, Stone’s president and brewmaster, Greg Koch, Stone’s CEO and co-founder, and Paul Gatza and Nancy Johnson of the Brewers Association.
“While I am leaving Stone, I will continue to sing the praises of the craft beer community, Stone Brewing Co., its employees, its ethics and, of course, its beers,” Arnsten wrote.
Following his announcement, Arnsten expressed his thoughts on Twitter.
Arnsten’s full written statement on the Brewers Association website is below:
“Though admittedly bittersweet, after 16 years as a member of Team Stone, I will be stepping down from my position as Senior Vice President of Sales to pursue interests outside of the craft beer industry.
Growing up here at Stone has been the most rewarding professional experience of my life. I want to whole-heartedly thank Greg and Steve for giving me the opportunity to participate in changing the world of beer. Forever, I will cherish the opportunity to contribute my energies to advancing the craft beer movement and appreciate all of the deep-rooted relationships I’ve been able to forge in my position. Working hand-in-hand with all of you in our industry has been nothing short of magnificent and I thank you for your contributions and camaraderie over the years. I also want to thank Paul Gatza and Nancy Johnson of the Brewers Association for always being warm and supportive of the Craft Beer Wholesalers Conference and of me personally.
I am leaving behind an amazing team that I am confident will continue to work hard towards our shared mission, and I will continue to support Team Stone’s hard work, first as a close advisor during this transitional period and later as a resource to be tapped as needed. While I am leaving Stone, I will continue to sing the praises of the craft beer community, Stone Brewing Co., its employees, its ethics and, of course, its beers. Cheers to you all and best wishes for continued success!”