Jim Koch, who first brewed Samuel Adams beer at home and built a craft beer empire, has a succession plan for when his time as chairman of the Boston Beer Company ends.
Koch will pass control of Boston Beer to his wife, Cynthia Fisher, a healthcare entrepreneur who serves on the company’s board, the couple said. the Wall Street Journal in an article published Wednesday.
“Sam Adams was a brewer and a patriot,” said Fisher, a board member since 2012. “You can see me as the alewife.”
In this photo released by Dogfish Head Brewery and Samuel Adams, Dogfish Head’s Sam Calagione, right, and Samuel Adams’ Jim Koch, left, pose for a photo in Washington on June 6, 2011 (Nick Wass/AP Images for Dogfish Head and Samuel Adams)AP IMAGES BY FISH HEAD IS
Koch, 75, brewed the first batch of Samuel Adams Boston Lager in his kitchen, based on his great-grandfather’s beer recipe he found in his parents’ attic in 1984, he told the Journal.
Although he is not Boston Beer’s CEO, Koch remains “deeply involved” in the company and controls top-level decisions with his voting shares, according to the paper. He also tests each batch of beer before it is bottled.
The company went public in 1995. Its current market cap is $3.5 billion, down from $12 billion in 2020.
Koch’s voting power will “eventually” pass to Fisher, 63, although he has “no plans to retire anytime soon,” the Journal reported.
The couple has been married for over 30 years.
Fisher founded ViaCord, a cord blood stem cell banking business, in 1993 and sold it for $300 million in 2007, the Journal reported. His recent work included founding two advocacy groups pushing for price transparency in health care.
He told the paper that he expects Boston Beer’s innovation with different beverages to continue as Americans’ drinking preferences change. Beyond its beer, the company brews the Truly hard seltzer brand and Twisted Tea alcoholic iced tea.