By Nick Kindelsperger, 14 April, 2025
It was December 2002, and a plane carrying Gavin Hattersley, his wife and his two young sons landed in their new hometown of Milwaukee. Global brewing giant SAB had just acquired Miller Brewing, and Gavin was the first South African they asked to move to Milwaukee and help lead the business.
And as happens in the winter in Milwaukee, it was snowing.
“When SAB sent us to visit Milwaukee and see if we would like to live there, it was the middle of the summer,” Hattersley says with a laugh. “The sun was shining, there were music festivals and baseball. It was beautiful. But we moved to Milwaukee in winter, and when we got off the plane, we all wondered if it was the same place.”
Even with the shock of a Wisconsin winter, Hattersley never looked back.
In over two decades since, he’s been the CEO or CFO of Molson Coors, MillerCoors and Miller Brewing Company. As one of its key leaders in that time, Hattersley has played a significant role in growing the business. Since then, the Company has grown both its top and bottom line substantially, reaching annual net sales revenue of $11.6 billion and underlying income before income taxes of $1.6 billion in 2024.
As Molson Coors Chairman Geoff Molson said of Hattersley, “he will retire having left an indelible mark on our business and the global beer industry.”
In an era of global expansion for beer giants, Hattersley has been one of the industry’s central figures. He’s played a key role as CFO of Beer South Africa in SABMiller’s London stock listing and helped create the MillerCoors U.S. joint venture.
Hattersley will be most remembered for his tenure as CEO of beer giant Molson Coors, where he has led the company to its strongest position since the business was formed – returning it to growth under his Revitalization Plan and building on that growth with his Acceleration Plan.
Since he was named to the post in 2019, Molson Coors has delivered its two highest years of annual revenue and its two highest years of underlying income before income taxes. The Company has reduced its net debt by nearly 40% since the end of 2019 and improved the balance sheet to its strongest position since the MillerCoors acquisition in 2016. It has premiumized its global portfolio and begun its transformation into a total beverage company.
“Gavin has always been a leader you can count on to operate with integrity, share his views openly and honestly, bring teams together, and do what’s best for the business,” said Board Vice-Chair David Coors. “Whether it’s our people or our partners, Gavin’s leadership has helped everyone around our business be their best, and he’s put our company on a path to an even brighter future.”
Yet despite his incredible career, Hattersley eschews the spotlight and any praise. Instead, he credits the team around him for the company’s progress in recent years.
“We have accomplished so much over the past six years and one thing I’m certain of is that none of it would have been possible without each of the 16,000 people across our business,” said Hattersley in a message to Molson Coors employees. “You built the plans. You brought them to life. You pushed in the right places. You saw what others didn’t. You were willing to take smart risks, to live up to the rich history of our brands while building for an even brighter future. Whether you are on the Leadership Team or are just getting started in your career here, whether you work in the field, in our offices or in a brewery, whether you are in our largest market or our smallest, you are responsible for our success and you are leading Molson Coors to a brighter future.”
Under Hattersley’s leadership, the company changed its name, marking a shift from being a “brewing company” to a “beverage company.” It has entered new spaces with energy drinks, mixers, seltzers, full-strength spirits, RTDs and more. And Molson Coors has forged multiple partnerships in beer, including a joint venture with D.G. Yuengling and Sons, and beyond beer, including the new commercialization rights to Fever-Tree in the U.S.
With Hattersley announcing his intention to retire by the end of the year, the search for his successor is on.
In accordance with the Company’s established governance policies, the Board is launching a search led by the Governance Committee to identify and appoint the next CEO. The Committee will benefit from its existing CEO-succession process and will consider internal and external candidates.
And while the company’s next leader isn’t known just yet, one thing is for sure — Molson Coors is in a better place because of Hattersley’s leadership.
“Gavin has been a steady hand at the wheel as CEO, navigating through incredible challenges that no one could ever have predicted while guiding our company to growth, strengthening our foundation, and setting us up for an even brighter future to come,” says Chairman Molson.
