Brewdog CEO James Taylor has departed the brewer, with owner Tilray Brands not intending to replace him, Global Drinks Intel understands.
Taylor (below) took over at the helm of the Scottish brewer in March last year, after having spent a year and a half as its CFO. BrewDog has since been acquired by Tilray, under whose ownership, the US-based group believes, there is less need for a full-time CEO.
The third ‘James’ to run BrewDog in the space of two years, Taylor took over from James Arrow, who in turn had assumed the CEO position from its founder, James Watt, in May 2024.
“James [Taylor] successfully led BrewDog through its ownership transition,” a company spokesperson said when contacted by Global Drinks Intel today (2 July). “We thank him for his contributions and wish him every success in the future.”
Tilray acquired the company in March in a pre-pack administration transaction for just GBP33m (then-US$44.5m). The deal included the global rights to the brand name, its UK brewing operations and 11 on-premise outlets. The remaining bars were to be sold or closed.
Earlier this month, Tilray shared its plans to use BrewDog’s UK bars to facilitate the launch of nine US beers in the country.
