Nick Miller, chief executive of Greenwich-based brewer Meantime, is to step down after five years at the company, which is facing its second takeover in a year.
Following the decision Laura Edwards, currently director brand marketing at Miller Brands UK, has been appointed to the role of Meantime’s general manager.
The group was acquired in May last year by SABMiller, which was in turn bought out by AB InBev. The latter revealed last month that it had received a binding offer for SABMiller’s European premium brands, including Peroni, Grolsch and Meantime, from Japanese brewer Asahi.
Miller, who leaves at the end of the month, said: “After five very exciting and rewarding years, it is now time to broaden my horizons further and hand the baton over to Laura. I will work with her over the next few months to ensure a smooth handover and that Meantime’s current momentum is unaffected. The Meantime management team and board remain unchanged.
“It has been a privilege to lead such a wonderful group of people at Meantime and to work with a great group of customers, as we have taken Meantime beers to more and more outlets and built a loyal following both here in the UK and abroad. I would like to thank both the employees and the wider Meantime community for their continued support, which I am sure will enable Meantime to continue to change the way people think about beer and lead the revitalisation of our wonderfully
Edwards said: “Meantime Brewing Company has enjoyed outstanding growth since its launch in 2000 and in that time Nick and the team have taken beer production to new heights, turning Meantime into Britain’s leading craft brewer. I have long been a huge fan of the brand so this appointment is a huge honour for me and I am looking forward to working with the team in Greenwich to continue building on the success of Meantime in the UK and beyond.”
Sue Clark, managing director, SABMiller Europe said: “I am looking forward to working with Laura to continue the strategy of building on the success of Meantime and we are delighted to be able to appoint a fantastic candidate from our internal talent pool with a great passion for beer and outstanding commercial capabilities.
“Since SABMiller purchased Meantime Brewing Company last year, we have ensured that it has continued to operate as a standalone business within our wider organisation. This will continue to be the case under Laura’s leadership. Meantime is at the vanguard of innovation of both beer styles and flavours and is well placed to continue to take the beer category to new consumers on new occasions.
“Finally, I would like to say a big thank you to Nick for his commitment to Meantime over the past five years and wish him well in his next project.”
