BrewDog hires ex-Red Bull MD in new leadership role

Scottish craft beer giant BrewDog has appointed the former managing director of Red Bull UK, Andy Shaw, to the newly-created role of CEO of beer.

Shaw joins the Ellon-headquartered brewer having served in senior roles at Red Bull for the past 14 years. He previously spent over eight years at GlaxoSmithKline.

Shaw is also the co-founder and non-executive director of natural protein snack brand Seven which was established in 2017.

In his new role, he will be responsible for the global sales and marketing of BrewDog’s beer. The brewer stated that the new position had been created “in order to provide additional senior strategic leadership as BrewDog enters a period of accelerated growth domestically and internationally”.

This year, BrewDog has stated that its due to open bars in Hull, Inverurie, Peterhead and Dalston in the UK as well as in Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Hamburg, Toronto and Paris.

Commenting on the hiring, BrewDog co-founder James Watt commented: Andy’s impressive track record for championing a strategic, global vision is what makes him such an exciting addition to the BrewDog crew.

“His experience in working in a vibrant, bold, business famed for pushing the envelope is exactly what we need as we enter hyperdrive on our global vision. Our mission remains exactly the same it was on day one; to make other people as passionate about great craft beer as we are. Andy will be pivotal in ensuring we fulfil this over the coming years.

Andy Shaw added: “BrewDog’s feats over the last decade are a direct result of a culture of innovation and fearlessness. When many in the industry doubted and scoffed, James and Martin remained clear eyed and determined to change the world of beer for the better.

“I’ve been impressed by them for the last ten years and I simply could not pass up the opportunity to join such a dynamic team in the next phase of growth. I couldn’t be more delighted at the chance to take BrewDog to new audiences, new territories and ultimately to new heights”.

In November last year, the brewer appointed David Gates as managing director of its distilling arm, LoneWolf. Gates had previously spent 27 years at Diageo, his most recent role being managing director of Diageo Futures, a division of the business that developed innovation strategy and new product creation.