701: What It’s Like to be CEO of The Boston Beer Company With Dave Burwick, Boston Beer Company [Main T4C Episode]

Dave Burwick is the president and CEO of The Boston Beer Company, the creator of popular beverages like Samuel Adams beer, Twisted Tea, and Truly Hard Seltzer. Dave launched his career in the beverage and consumer goods industries at PepsiCo, where he served in a variety of marketing roles during the 20 years he spent there. One of these roles included being the brand manager and director for Mountain Dew for 5 years, overseeing the hugely successful ‘Do the Dew’ campaign. After his time with PepsiCo, Dave worked at Peet’s Coffee where he was president and CEO, and later at Weight Watcher’s where he was also president. Dave attended Middlebury College where he received a BA in history and Harvard Business School where he got an MBA in general management.  WHAT YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT IN THIS EPISODE: How Dave ended up in the soft drink/food/beer industry (5:00) How products go from an idea to in production (12:00) How the Boston Beer Company has been affected by COVID-19 (16:30) How diversification has helped the beverage and consumer goods industry and how it can help others industries too (19:32) How hard seltzers have changed the beer market (24:00) What jobs exist for young people in this industry that might be surprising (29:00) How Dave ended up in the beer industry with a history major in college (32:00) What lessons David learned during 20-years at PepsiCo (37:00)