Ep. 609 - New Belgium Beer Chief Supply Chain Officer Tom O'Connell - We're a Human Powered Business

What does it take to keep a brewery's supply chain running when a hurricane floods it six feet deep, four days after you start the job?

In this episode, Lindsay Smith sits down with Tom O'Connell, Chief Supply Chain Officer at New Belgium Beer. Tom brings nearly 28 years in brewing, including 25 years at Anheuser-Busch where he led more than 1,400 employees across 46 locations, before joining New Belgium in 2024 to oversee brewing operations across its four US breweries.

Tom breaks down what it actually means to own everything from raw materials to the last mile of delivery, how New Belgium keeps culture consistent across four very different regions, and what he learned leading the Asheville brewery through Hurricane Helene, a crisis that tested the company's people first philosophy in real time.

Listen now.

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Timestamped Highlights

00:33 Meet Tom O'Connell, Chief Supply Chain Officer

02:00 How Tom Got Into Beer by Fate

02:54 25 Years at Anheuser-Busch

04:14 What the Chief Supply Chain Officer Role Covers

09:56 The Annual Leadership Retreat