Wisconsin Brewing Company President Paul Verdu has been named Managing Director of Asahi Beer USA, Inc. and Octopi Brewing, which are owned by Asahi Europe & International.
Verdu is expected to lead Asahi's "ambitious growth plans."
In addition to making Asahi Super Dry – which is the No. 1 Japanese beer brand on the international market – Asahi also makes Twisted Shotz ready-to-drink cocktails, and last January acquired Waukakee's Octopi Brewing.
Verdu brings vast brewing industry experience to Asahi, having worked at Molson Coors, SABMiller, Constellation Brands Beer Division and, most recently, at Wisconsin Brewing Company/Lake Louie near Madison (with a brewhouse and taproom at the Lake Country DockHounds' Wisconsin Brewing Co. Park in Oconomowoc).
The Waunakee brewery will produce Asahi products like Asahi Super Dry and Kozel for the U.S., along with other ready-to-drink beverages, as well as continuing to contract brew for others.
“I’m thrilled to join Asahi at this pivotal moment, as we prepare for production of Asahi’s brands at Octopi, right alongside our fantastic co-packing clients’ products,” Verdu said.
“We are also focused on creating a combined organization that marries our commercial sales and marketing excellence, technical expertise and Asahi’s global scale to enable our future growth.”
According to Asahi, the facility, near Madison, employed 241 before the acquisition and has since grown its workforce by 5.4 percent.
The ever-growing facility is also getting yet another expansion and new equipment, including a new bottling line and packaging capabilities, at a cost of more than $35 million across three years.
“This multimillion-dollar investment at Octopi will help us to expand on our overall brewing and packaging capabilities so that we can better meet customer, consumer and employee needs," Verdu says.
"It is also a key enabler for the growth of Asahi Super Dry and other iconic Asahi brands across the country – there’s a lot to look forward to!”
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
