May 07--MillerCoors has named Molson Coors Chief Financial Officer Gavin Hattersley its interim chief executive. He'll assume that post June 30 when CEO Tom Long retires.
Hattersley, 52, will hold the post for up to six months as the board searches for a permanent CEO.
Hattersley has been CFO at Molson Coors for 3 years. Previously he was CFO at MillerCoors. MillerCoors, a joint venture between SABMiller and Molson Coors Brewing, makes Coors Light, Miller Lite and Miller High Life. They also are the parent of craft beer-maker Blue Moon Brewing.
Hattersley's appointment suggests MillerCoors is not for sale, despite talk of consolidation in the beer industry, according to Stifel securities analyst Mark Swartzberg.
"It is more evidence that Molson Coors' current U.S. structure is not suited to optimal long-term performance," Swartzberg wrote in a Thursday note. It is more likely to 'demotivate' outsiders to consider working for two owners with different global positions and objectives," he said.
Hattersley is well-regarded in the industry according to analysts, but differences between MillerCoors' parents may have slowed the selection process.
"It's an uneasy partnership," said Benj Steinman, editor of Beer Marketer's Insights. "Molson Coors and SABMiller, they haven't always seen eye to eye. One of the difficulties is that the CEO has not necessarily had tremendous autonomy with the two partners. Even though it's a great business ... it probably is a little bit of a challenge to attract the top tier CEO candidates."
The announcement was made shortly after MillerCoors reported that first-quarter profit rose almost 5 percent despite a 1 percent decline in sales.
crshropshire@tribpub.com
