Second Brewdog CEO in a year calls time

After less than a year in the role, the CEO of beleaguered beer company, BrewDog, has announced he is moving on.

James Arrow only took the position in May 2024. He stepped in to replace co-founder James Watt, who stood down as chief executive after 17 years behind the brand.

Arrow’s departure comes at a difficult time for the company, which hasn’t reported a pre-tax profit since 2019. But it is also a time of turbulence for all hospitality businesses.

There are rallying calls to support local SMEs ahead of the April tax rises with warnings of job losses and closures.

What’s happened at BrewDog?

Arrow has stated he is leaving for “personal reasons”. He has handed over to the company’s former chief financial officer, James Taylor.

A finance figure might be the best bet for the company. CityAm reports that Brewdog’s pre-tax loss went from £25m to £59m in 2023. However, there is some good news as its revenue increased by 14% to £366m over the same period.

Taylor’s appointment is also a C-Suite reshuffle as opposed to wholesale change. Taylor joined the company from Mayborn Group in November 2023 and is described by chairman Allan Leighton as “an instrumental leader at Brewdog,” who has a “deep understanding” of the business.

The company has also announced another internal promotion with Lauren Carrol taking on the role of chief operating officer.

Appointing internally takes some of the sting out of succession planning as the employees stepping up already know the company. In this case, with such a sudden departure after a short period of time, this will play a role in making the transition as smooth as possible.

Celebrity entrepreneur

Since Watt’s departure, all eyes have been on the Scotland-based brewing company. Arrow had big shoes to fill as Watt was not only the co-founder of the brewing company but also headed up his own reality TV show.

House of Unicorns was a mix of The X Factor, The Apprentice and Dragons’ Den, and saw contestants compete with each other to win a £2 million cash prize for business investment.

Watt pulled on his own experience as a founder. BrewDog was one of the biggest Startups 100 success stories, starting from a small craft brewery in Scotland to becoming a brand worth billions.

Press frenzy

The punk brewer has often hit the headlines, though. In January last year, Watt courted controversy with his announcement that the company simply couldn’t afford to pay the upcoming rise in the Real Living Wage (RLW). This voluntary rate of pay hit £12/ hour for employees aged 21 or over in April 2024.

At the time, Watt stated in a social media post that retaining a Real Living Wage salary would require an increase in staffing costs of 26%. This, he argued, would jeopardise “the long-term viability of our business.”

Similar debates are now taking place as the NICs price hike approaches, with businesses arguing that their tax burden is already too high.

BrewDog employs over 2,700 people and operates more than 120 bars, hotels and venues. Others will now be watching the company’s new CEO to see how he’ll ride the incoming storm; and whether his name will be in as many news headlines as James Watt’s.