New Belgium Brewing announces new CEO
Shaun Belongie, New Belgium Brewing’s Chief Marketing Officer of 5 years, will become its next Chief Executive Officer.
Following the departure of former CEO Steve Fechheimer, Lion Group – which acquired the Fort Collins brewery in 2019 – considered a range of internal and external candidates.
Lion Group CEO Sam Fischer said: “Shaun’s breadth of experience, innovative mindset, commercial acumen and great love of the New Belgium culture and coworkers makes Shaun an excellent fit to lead the team. I also want to thank and acknowledge Danielle McLarnon for her exceptional leadership as Interim CEO, and she will continue to play a crucial role as New Belgium’s Chief Financial Officer.”
Belongie will take the helm of a business that has seen strong growth over the last several years. New Belgium is North America’s largest craft beer platform, with an unrivaled portfolio after joining forces with Bell’s Brewery in 2022.
Brands include Voodoo Ranger and Fat Tire – America’s first certified carbon neutral beer - Two Hearted and Oberon, along with popular and innovative brands like Dominga Mimosa Sour, Hopslam, La Folie and an award-winning wood-aged sour program.
In Belongie’s role as Chief Marketing Officer he successfully built Voodoo Ranger: with sales tripling from 3 million to 9 million cases over a three-year period, including launching Juice Force in 2022, the biggest innovation by sales in craft beer history.
Overseeing both New Belgium and Bell’s portfolios since they joined forces in 2022, he successfully led the integration of the Bell’s marketing team and developed the “Never Trend” brand platform for Bell’s Two Hearted IPA, driving renewed growth momentum for the brand.
Prior to joining New Belgium Brewing, Belongie worked for more than a decade in a variety of finance, sales, and marketing roles at Kraft Foods and Nestle Purina, the latter where he led flagship brands with a highly innovative approach to product development, branding, and digital strategy. Belongie holds a Bachelor of Arts in English from Marquette University and earned an MBA from the Olin School of Business at Washington University in Saint Louis.
The organization will share details in the near future on plans for filling the vacant Chief Marketing Officer role.