Genesee's parent company names new CEO

Plus, Labatt Blue announces new beer to celebrate Buffalo's last season at Highmark Stadium

Genesee Beer’s parent company, FIFCO USA, has a new leader, the brewery announced Thursday.

Effective immediately, Gustavo Cornejo, previously FIFCO’s general manager for operations in North Central America, the Caribbean, and Mexico, takes the reigns as chief executive officer from Piotr Jurjewicz, who assumed the position in 2022.

In his previous role, Cornejo “focused on strategic growth and operational opportunities,” according to a release. He has been with FIFCO for more than 10 years and served in a number of different roles, including leading sales in the United States.

Photo: FIFCO USA CEO Gustavo Cornejo (photo provided).

“On behalf of FIFCO, I want to extend my sincerest gratitude to Piotr for his leadership, unwavering integrity, and commitment to transparency during his tenure. His contributions have been significant, and we deeply appreciate his continued dedication to a seamless transition,” said Rolando Carvajal, CEO of Florida Ice and Farm Co. (FIFCO), FIFCO USA’s Costa Rican-based parent company.

Carvajal continued, “I am looking forward to working with Gustavo in this new capacity, and I am confident in his ability to push FIFCO USA towards positive business outcomes. He is a strategic leader and will bring a fresh perspective towards our business challenges, leveraging deep knowledge of the FIFCO system and a clear understanding of our U.S. business.”

FIFCO purchased Genesee and related brands in 2012. FIFCO USA’s brand umbrella includes Genesee, Labatt USA (where production of Labatt Blue and Blue Light were recently moved stateside after decades of production in Canada), Magic Hat Brewing, Pyramid Beer, Lipton Hard Iced Tea (Yum! Hope to have an upcoming inside look at that brand family), Seagram’s Escapes malt beverages, and a number of different contract-brewed products.

“I am excited to step into the role of CEO of FIFCO USA,” Cornejo said in a release. “After living in Buffalo for over four years (let’s hope Gustavo became a Bills fan during that time in Buffalo) and overseeing our sales operations department, I am thrilled to return to the US to lead FIFCO USA. I will spend the next 100 days immersing myself in the business and working with partners internally and externally to shape a forward-looking strategy, which I am excited to share once this process is complete.”

FIFCO USA is headquartered at Genny’s St. Paul Street campus. Jurjewicz oversaw a period of extreme investment and infrastructure growth, including $28 million on a state-of-the-art packaging line and millions more (upwards of $50 million total) to expand capacity for the brewery’s wildly successful lineup of Seagram’s flavored malt beverages (a product line that is now the most profitable and highest volume produced at Genny, I’ve previously reported).

I’m gonna see if Cornejo will be available to chat in the future, because I’d love to learn more about him and his vision for the state’s oldest brewery. I’m also gonna ask Cornejo to bring back three beers — Genny’s otherworldly Northern German Pilsner, its Schwarzbier, and the Dundee Pale Bock. I figure if I keep yelling loud enough into the universe, it might actually happen.

Labatt launches new shandy to commemorate Bills’ last season at Highmark Stadium

Labatt USA announced a new beverage to commemorate and celebrate the final season of Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park. For more than 50 years, the stadium has been home to the Buffalo Bills, who are moving into a new stadium next door. (And because my wife told me I am no longer allowed to bitch about how $800 million in public funds are being used to construct Terry’s palatial playhouse, I won’t. Even though I just kinda did.)

Labatt is set to release the new Blue Light Stadium Shandy, a blueberry lemon shandy (ostensibly an alcoholic mixed drink of lemonade mixed with light lager). I haven’t tried it yet, but I’m sure it’ll be incredibly refreshing and perfect for tailgating at the Ralph (or in my garage).

This new concoction will be released next month in 12 packs of 12-ounce cans and will feature three different can designs depicting three iconic moments in Bills history. (And no, thankfully, Wide Right and the Music City Miracle are not shown on these new cans.) According to a press release, the packaging will showcase the “Snow Bowl (unclear which one, however — probably the LeSean McCoy-Colts game in 2017),” “The Greatest Comeback,” and “The Perfect Offensive Game.”