Molson Coors CEO Gavin Hattersley announced he will retire by the end of 2025 after six years leading the company. The beverage giant’s board is searching for its next CEO with the help of a third-party firm.
Hattersley, who originally hails from South Africa, has worked in the beer industry for 28 years, first joining the former Miller Coors in 2002. His tenure leading Molson Coors has coincided with changes in the beer category, as many younger consumers are leaving the category for other beverages.
In a statement posted to LinkedIn, Hattersley said during his tenure the company “strengthened our supply chain and invested in our breweries, and through it all, we’ve built a stronger business.”
Geoff Molson, the chair of the company’s board, called Hattersley 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.”
In the press release, Molson Coors said Hattersley has substantially grown its bottom line, achieving $11.6 billion in revenue in 2024. The company has also cut its debt by nearly 40% since 2019.
One month after becoming CEO in 2019, Hattersley overhauled its corporate structure into two separate business units and cut 500 jobs to boost the company’s cash flow. He also cut “Brewing” from the company’s name and replaced it with “Beverage” to better reflect its broadening ambitions.
The executive has expanded the brewer’s “Beyond Beer” portfolio, expanding its reach into new categories such as canned cocktails, premium spirits and energy drinks. Under Hattersley’s direction, the company also offloaded four underperforming craft beer brands to Tilray last year and refocused its efforts on its popular brews including Blue Moon and Coors Banquet in 2025.
Molson Coors has also faced some challenges during the CEO’s tenure, notably a prolonged labor strike at a Texas facility last year and a cyberattack that disrupted its beer production in 2021.
Hattersley’s departure comes as other high-profile CEOs in the food and beverage industry have announced plans to retire, including Hershey’s Michele Buck and Monster Beverage co-CEO Rodney Sacks.
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