Brewdog CEO steps down
He will still own 21% of the company and will hold the newly created title “captain and co-founder”, as well as remaining a non-executive director
Brewdog co-founder and CEO James Watt has announced that he is set to step down after 17 years in charge.
He informed the board of his decision last year and will be replaced by the company’s chief operating officer James Arrow.
He will still own 21% of the company and will hold the newly created title “captain and co-founder”, as well as remaining a non-executive director.
His departure follows a number of controversies at the company, most notably in 2021 when Watt was accused by former workers in an open letter of presiding over a “culture of fear” within the business.
He apologised to staff and has said the group made changes after the open letter was published.
In January the company faced backlash after it announced it would no longer hire staff on the new real living wage and would instead pay national minimum wage instead.
In a LinkedIn post, Watt said: “During my time at the helm of BrewDog, there have been highs and lows, up and downs, crazy successes and incredibly hard challenges. When I look back on the last 17 years (119 dog years) my overwhelming feeling is one of gratitude.”
Arrow was hired as COO last year as part of BrewDog’s succession planning and was previously managing director of Boots Opticians.
He is expected to focus on profitability, after the company reported losses of £30.5m last year, despite soaring sales.
