It’s hard to imagine James Watt giving up for long on his brewing dream. Remaining on the board and as co-founder and captain, he will be a tough act for James Arrow to follow and to control.
Watt’s relentless energy and enthusiasm, which drove some of his staff to very strong and public criticism of his management style, is constantly sparking ideas and ambitions – for new products, for outrageous ways of promoting them, and to get the community of loyal “punks” he built up to drink his beer and invest in it.
He says he wants to “continue to build fantastic start-ups” and start new ventures of his own, as well as “continuing to help Brewdog build an amazing business”.
If he can stand back, that leaves a more conventional team and approach to growing the company’s output and global portfolio of bars and hotels.
They also want to get Brewdog back into profit after three years of significant losses, driven by higher energy prices, supply chain disruption and rapid expansion of its on-trade.
The new chief executive, hired last year from Boots Opticians, and chairman Allan Leighton, who led Asda, the Co-operative Group and Royal Mail, will probably want to focus on preparing for a stock market float.
That has been long delayed by poor market conditions, and the controversies that embattled the chief executive.
Another deadline for that looms later this year, which might help explain why James Watt now has more time also for “travelling and adventures” and “spending more time with family and loved ones”.
Credit: Source link
