'The way forward' | BrewDog CEO shares update on internal furore, but is it enough?

Headlines have been awash recently with the shocking allegations levelled at BrewDog’s CEO James Watt and the claims of toxic culture inside the plucky UK-based brewing company.

The case was a textbook example of external PR allegedly not aligning with the true internal perception of a firm, yet what further shocked the public was the reaction from Watt and his team. Today, we’re delving into the recently-released public letter that the CEO posted to LinkedIn in recent days, and what this may mean for Watt, and many other leaders looking to avoid his pitfalls.

What happened?

On June 9, a group of over 100 people claiming to be ex-BrewDog employees, under the name ‘Punks with Purpose’ published an open letter on social media to BrewDog and its founders James Watt and Martin Dickie. The letter made a multitude of allegations, but the primary accusation was that BrewDog was guilty of striving for progression at the expense of its people, and also alleged that the firm was “built on a cult of personality”.