Scottish brewery BrewDog has announced new leadership for BrewDog USA. Tanisha Robinson, founder of several local startups, will head the company’s stateside operations, establishing the brand and sales strategy, and heading up their operational growth.
“We have been searching for someone to head up our USA operations, and as soon as we met Tanisha we knew we’d found our Top Dog,” said co-founder James Watt in a press release. “Our USA launch and expansion is one of the most exciting and ambitious ventures we’ve dreamt up yet, and with Tanisha at the helm, the sky is the limit.”
The announcement comes just ahead of the August launch of BrewDog’s new 100,000 square foot brewery in Canal Winchester and planned tap rooms in Franklinton and Short North. As the company expands its Ohio (and eventually U.S.) operations, they turned to Robinson for her “astute business instinct, huge passion for craft beer, and her love of our new hometown, Columbus.”
Robinson’s own entrepreneurial ventures are diverse. She founded design, technology and marketing company Print Syndicate in 2012. TicketFire was her baby as well. The app creates digital tickets from paper ones, allowing users to share and resell event tickets more easily.
Robinson will take her experience and develop a cohesive business culture that easily transfers between their headquarters in Aberdeenshire and Columbus. As the craft brewing industry looks toward a 20 percent market share by 2020, she’ll spearhead BrewDog’s growth of distribution and their American bar division as well, focusing first on Ohio before moving on to neighboring states.
This process starts immediately as BrewDog is set to distribute in stores and venues by next week.
“Because there are so many craft breweries in America, it’s really forcing everyone in the industry to fixate on creativity and quality,” Robinson said. “The Columbus (and Ohio) beer scene is particularly vibrant because of the constant expansion, knowledgeable patrons, talented brewers, and incredible diversity.”
For more information, visit brewdog.com/usa/.