BrewDog has promoted chief financial officer James Taylor to the role of CEO, the company’s second chief executive in just a year.

Taylor is to succeed outgoing CEO James Arrow, who has stepped down after nine months in the job, citing “personal reasons”.

Arrow was promoted from CMO to CEO in May 2024, as a replacement for co-founder and then-chief executive James Watt.

A statement from BrewDog said: “The Board would like to thank James Arrow for his contribution to BrewDog, first as COO, before taking over as CEO in 2024, in particular overseeing the restructuring of the US business, strengthening the company’s operational framework, and driving its on-trade presence, including a landmark partnership with the MCC at Lord’s.”

Taylor, who is set to assume the role as CEO immediately, previously held senior leadership roles at childcare company Mayborn, before joining BrewDog in October 2023.

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BrewDog chairman Allan Leighton said: “James Taylor has been an instrumental leader at BrewDog, steering the financial strategy and laying a strong foundation for profitable growth.

“His deep understanding of our business, coupled with his proven track record in operational excellence, makes him the ideal choice to guide BrewDog into its next chapter.”

Alongside its new CEO, the beer brand has also promoted CMO Lauren Carrol to be its new chief operating officer. Carrol joined the company in 2018 and was appointed CMO in 2022, as a replacement to Arrow.

Last year, Brewdog co-founder and former chief executive James Watt described the brewer’s performance as “frustrating” after it posted an operating loss of almost £60m.

The beer brand doubled its pre-tax losses from £30m in 2022, to £59.2m last year. However, its gross sales jumped 11% from £321m to £355m.

However sales from its grocery division had already edged up 2% from 2023 in the first half of 2024, as UK grocery volumes increased 10% year-on-year, outperforming the total grocery beer volume market by 13 percentage points.