[ad_1]
17 years after co-founding Scottish multinational brewery and pub chain BrewDog, CEO James Watt will step down from his place and assume a brand new position of ‘captain and co-founder.’
Based on The Guardian, Watt knowledgeable the corporate board of his plans to step down final yr, and COO James Arrow will take the reins as CEO. Watt will nonetheless personal a 21-percent stake in BrewDog, and can stay energetic in firm affairs and model path as a non-executive member.
“For nearly 2 many years just about each second of my waking existence has been targeted on this superb enterprise,” Watt wrote in a LinkedIn put up. “Throughout my time on the helm of BrewDog, there have been highs and lows, up and downs, loopy successes and extremely laborious challenges. After I look again on the final 17 years (119 Canine Years) my overwhelming feeling is certainly one of gratitude.”
BrewDog, began by Watt and Martin Dickie in a storage in Fraserburgh, was based on anti-establishment beliefs earlier than rising to turn out to be one of many largest names within the fashionable beer panorama. Along with proudly owning a distillery, cidery, a number of breweries, and resorts, it at the moment operates because the mother or father firm of over 100 bars throughout the globe. As of 2012, the model established its new headquarters in Aberdeenshire, Scotland.
BrewDog — and Watt himself — have drawn criticism in recent times. In June 2021, an open letter signed by over 100 former workers accused Watt of making a “tradition of concern” within the office.
“You’ve inflated egos and fostered a tradition inside craft beer that deifies founders, and offers weight to sexist and misogynistic brewers who declare to be standing up totally free speech,” the letter claimed. “You’ve turn out to be a lightning rod for among the worst attitudes current on each the web, and in actual life.”
Watt has since apologized to employees, however the controversy has continued. In December 2022, BrewDog misplaced its B Corp certificates, which is given to corporations with an moral dedication to the atmosphere, its employees, and group. In January 2024, BrewDog confronted industry-wide backlash after revealing that it could cease hiring new employees on the U.Okay.’s established Actual Dwelling Wage, choosing a beginning price on the decrease authorized minimal wage.
What lies forward for BrewDog? Time will inform. As for Watt, he plans to take “a while off for touring & adventures,” and “[spend] extra time with household & family members.”
[ad_2]
