BrewDog CEO James Brown Resigns

James Brown, the chief executive of BrewDog, has announced his resignation after two years in the role and nine years with the company. Brown joined BrewDog in 2015 as the retail director, eventually becoming the global retail CEO in 2022.

BrewDog co-founder and former CEO James Watt, who stepped down in May after 17 years, shared his thoughts on LinkedIn: “It has been both a pleasure and a privilege working incredibly closely with JB pretty much every single day over the last decade. We have shared some thrilling highs, tough lows, and numerous challenges together, but through it all, we managed to have so many laughs and great memories along the way.” Watt noted that together they expanded BrewDog bars from 30 to over 130 locations worldwide, including flagship sites in cities like Las Vegas, Berlin, and Tokyo.

In his resignation statement, Brown expressed gratitude for his time at BrewDog, stating, “I was privileged to work with some amazing talented ‘BrewDogers’ both past and present, and their energy, drive, and creativity led the business to what it is today.” He mentioned that he would share more about his future plans soon but emphasized his ongoing support for BrewDog as a shareholder and fan.

Brown’s resignation comes amid a challenging period for BrewDog, which reported an operating loss of nearly £60 million in October. The company’s pre-tax losses doubled from £30 million in 2022 to £59.2 million last year, despite an 11% increase in gross sales, rising from £321 million to £355 million.