Persephone Brewing Company is eyeing a former executive from one of the U.S.’s most successful craft brewers to help grow its business as the new chief executive officer.
Jenn Vervier, formerly the corporate social responsibility and strategic projects director at Colorado-based New Belgium Brewing Company, met with the public and local politicians at a Feb. 26 event held at Persephone’s farm outside of Gibsons. The event was arranged for Vervier to meet the community, visit Persephone and “explore whether we should work together,” said Brian Smith, Persephone’s CEO and co-owner.
New Belgium Brewing is the fourth largest craft brewer in the United States, with revenue of $234 million in 2017 and $17 million in profits, as estimated by Forbes.
During her 25 years at the company, Vervier, who started at the brewer’s bottling line, took on a number of roles, including as chief financial officer and chief operating officer, before stepping down last May for health reasons and to pursue other opportunities.
While both parties are enthusiastic about the prospect, no formal offer has been made. “We are excited about the potential of working together but it is not locked down yet,” Smith told Coast Reporter.
“There’s a handful of important issues that we need to iron out and become really clear on before we commit to each other,” he said.
For her part, Vervier said she was “excited for the opportunity to help lead this values-driven company to the next level.”
In terms of growth, Smith didn’t divulge any specifics on the company’s vision, adding that whoever is ultimately chosen as the CEO will direct those business decisions.
He did, however, offer some examples of possible growth opportunities, such as opening pubs in other communities, starting a malting facility in the north where barley is grown, and buying and operating more farmland. “Some might end up landing on the Sunshine Coast, and yet many may not,” said Smith.
Vervier also did not disclose any strategic priorities, but did say there are “non-traditional and less obvious options” that the company could pursue.
Smith said historical conflicts with neighbours that delayed their ability to secure licensing from the province were no longer at play.
“We are not stuck on small concerns in the community that we have already overcome. That for me is not holding us back, nor [are they] a part of our strategic planning going forward,” he said, adding, “We don’t anticipate growing necessarily on the farm.”
Vervier’s interest in taking the helm as Persephone’s new CEO came by way of social media. When the company announced they were seeking a CEO, Smith noticed no women had applied for the job.
He took to social media to address the lack of gender diversity, acknowledging in a post the beer company, like many in the industry, “has thus far been led by a bunch of (good hearted but not very diverse) white guys.”
He asked his followers to offer “thoughts, guidance and help” in getting his job request in front of “awesome women in business.”
That appeal was shared hundreds of times on Facebook, brought the company off-Coast media attention, hundreds of applications, and the attention of Jenn Vervier.
Ironically, New Belgium is one of the industry’s few companies which has been led by a woman. Kim Jordan co-founded the company and was its CEO for two decades.
As with New Belgium, Persephone is a Certified B Corporation, an independent certification for businesses with verified “social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability,” according to the B Corps website. Smith said it was a mutual B Corps colleague who connected him to Vervier.
