DBC Head of Open Gate Brewery - Sales, Experience & Strategy

Director, Open Gate Brewery

The Director of Open Gate Brewery will lead the two U.S. locations of Guinness Open Gate Breweries (OGB) in Baltimore and Chicago. This person should have a strong background in hospitality and will provide the overarching strategic vision and direction to improve brand impact and sales in both brand homes.

The Director is tasked with managing a team of operators, marketers and third parties. This person must maintain a culture focused on best-in-class hospitality, brand experience, and brewing creativity, while incorporating craft beer best practices. 

They should be a dynamic leader, who balances P&L discipline with creativity—someone who is dedicated to bringing Guinness to life in our brand homes. Collaboration is key to success in this role—with the sales organization, the Guinness brand team, distributors, etc. We are looking for a seasoned general manager with an entrepreneurial spirit, who proactively works across all functions (Diageo leadership, NA Supply, Irish brewers, craft breweries in MD and elsewhere, site management, finance, Aramark, etc.) involved in the brewery for constant betterment. This person is also a local face in the cities of Chicago and Baltimore, and will often represent us and build critical local relationships.

In F25, the plan for both OGB sites is to deliver $18MM of revenue, while driving 480k+ visitors, through unique consumer experiences, tastings, events, and creative activations. Efficient and strategic overhead management will be needed to continuously improve profitability.

This person should be about to build the annual operating plan, set and hit financial targets, and constantly seek to improve the experience and cut superfluous costs. They should become a leading voice in the better beer community and a vital contributor to beer culture via collaborations, DBC/Supply outreach, hosting brewers and actively contributing in research, education and relevant initiatives. They should be an excellent people manager, who enjoys developing team members.

Each OGB location includes a tap room, private event space, retail shop, and restaurant. Baltimore’s outdoor space is significant, and that location also has a brewery tour. The Director owns the relationship  with out third party operating partners, with over 100+ employees onsite across both locations. The Director must ensure the consumer experience exceeds expectations set by Guinness and the Storehouse, and warrants solid reviews on Yelp, Google, etc.

This person should be a Guinness lover, servant leader and natural host, who seeks to run our brand homes with the dual task of providing the best brand experience and improving our revenue and margin.

Budget responsibilities: Manage $21MM in operations overhead and $2MM A&P

Minimum Qualifications and Experience Required:            

• Minimum 15 years’ experience in senior hospitality general management roles, with experience in hospitality operations, marketing and innovation
• Strong leadership and ability to influence and engage senior partners across the organization
• Demonstrated ability in research, financial analysis, presentation and facilitation skills, strategic insight, development of models and presentations
• Craft beer and engineering experience preferred