The new executives of the Coors - Miller Brewing joint venture to handle beer sales and development of new Coors/Miller brands spoke to the troops today according to Brew Blog, a Miller house blog:

New Joint Venture CEO: “The best beer company in America.”

“Our vision is to become the best beer company in America,” Leo Kiely, who will be CEO of the joint venture, said Monday at a meeting of Miller Brewing Company employees to introduce MillerCoors’ executive team. (A similar meeting was also held at Coors Brewing Company.)

In their presentations, Kiely and other executives said the joint venture — slated to be closed at the end of the month — will create a brewer whose brands, people, customer relationships and scale will make it a formidable challenger to Anheuser-Busch.

“We believe in brands and we’re determined to build the best portfolio in the beer business,” Kiely said.

Tom Long, who will be the president and chief commercial officer of MillerCoors, laid out the company’s business imperatives, including:

– Maintaining momentum and preventing lost sales due to distribution or retail complications.
– Assembling the best team in the American beer industry.
– Clarifying the brand portfolio quickly and ensuring each key brand fulfills a distinctive role.
– Creating a general-manager based sale structure that can capitalize on local opportunities and effectively work with large retailers
– Set and meet clear expectations with distributors

“The first 100 days are going to set the tone,” Long said.

My comment: If they’re smart, they’ll push the Blue Moon brands big-time and not dilute them with Blue Moon rice beer or Blue Moon light lagers. Are they smart? Do they care about craft beer? Do they realize we have the buzz and most of the poential? I dunno. What do you think? Post it here or e-mail me at whatsontap@sbcglobal.net.