Global brewing boss who created T in the Park now helping scale-ups

Spirits firm brings in Scottish drinks trade veteran as it eyes stock market move

In a fascinating interview on yesterday’s Go Radio Business Show with Hunter & Haughey, Bridge of Weir-born Mr Hunter – whose original goal was to be a professional footballer – shared his remarkable career journey which saw him appointed to the board of Bass Brewers at the age of just 34.

His passion for the booze business started when he joined cider company Bulmers in a sales role. “I’d left Strathclyde University [with a degree in business and marketing] in 1983 at a time when it was really difficult to get a job – I was pounding the streets and would have taken anything to get a job,” he told show hosts Sir Tom Hunter and Lord Willie Haughey.

His next job at Tennent’s saw him in a trade marketing role, then a brand marketing role a couple of years later. “I started looking after Tennent’s Special then Tennent’s Lager – then the whole portfolio,” he said. “And I spent the next 30 years in the beer business.

“It was an exciting time – we launched T in the Park in 1994 which went on to be a fantastic success, working with DF Concerts who are still doing a great job. There were a lot of great marketing initiatives around that time and it really freshened up what became an institution in Scotland in terms of the big red T.”

Finding himself heading south from Glasgow to Bass Brewers and rising up the ranks due to “hard work and a bit of luck”, Mr Hunter admits he was surprised when he was offered the job of marketing director and attributes his previous experience in sales as contributing to that.

When Bass – owner of Carling, the UK’s bestselling lager brand – was sold to Denver, Colorado-based Coors in 2002, Mr Hunter had to contend with the “differences” that arose with the merging of UK and US cultures. The vibe, he said, was more casual and informal – but Coors was very people-centric which helped him learn “to be a better leader”.

Three years later, Mr Hunter was on a plane to Toronto after accepting the job of chief commercial officer following Coors’ merger with Canadian brewer Molson. And three years after that, he was bank on UK soil as chief executive of the business in this country.

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Asked by Sir Tom Hunter what advice he had for scale-ups to get the best out of their team, he said: “There are three things I focus on: leading self, leading others, and leading the business. It’s a model developed throughout my career. It’s really simple and starts with self-awareness. That’s followed by understanding the people on your team and being truthful about the business you are running.”

Discussing his experience at Coors, both in the UK and latterly at CEO of Molson Coors in the States – he retired in 2019 – Mr Hunter said: “A lot starts with feedback from the people you are working for and with, and understanding their motivations.

“It is trying to give people a sense that you have no real agenda other than to create a successful, high-performing team and business.

“I think good leaders are authentic and the notion that you would start behaving in a different way is something people would see through.”

Mr Hunter, who is a non-executive director of TreeHouse Foods Inc, a US-listed manufacturer and distributor of private label packaged foods and beverages, and non-executive chairman of the Artisanal Spirits Company, owner of the Scotch Malt Whisky Society, had this further advice for scale-ups.

He noted: “Be very clear about what makes your business distinctive and build a great team around you. Managing cash, managing your balance sheet – a lot of people talk about profit but it is cash which is magical in any business, your working capital and making sure you are all over that because if you have cash, you can make it happen.”