Clayton Burrous

Company Overview: 4,000 BBL brewery and taproom located in downtown Myrtle Beach, SC

• Established the vision, organized the business plan, and oversaw the physical buildout of what is now the largest and fastest-growing craft brewery in the Myrtle Beach market (Horry and Georgetown County, SC).
• Brought together a team of construction and tax credit experts to partner with Grand Strand Brewing in the acquisition and repurposing of a historic building.
• Proposed and successfully negotiated significant equity in the real estate for Grand Strand Brewing, ensuring a financially viable business plan, and enhancing the probability of a successful exit strategy in the future.
• Served as the owner advocate for the real estate team during an 8-month construction and historic rehabilitation of a 13,000-square-foot facility, which is now home to Grand Strand Brewing (1st floor) and The Brewer’s Lofts (2nd floor).
• Effectively managed and monitored a $3.5M construction budget through detailed and intentional coordination with architects, contractors, equipment suppliers, and tax credit investors.
• Recruited and built an outstanding leadership team to oversee Brewing Operations, Taproom Operations, and Sales Operations.
• Spearheaded business strategy and quickly developed strong revenue streams via wholesale distribution, taproom hospitality, taproom retail, and special events.
• Solidified GSB as an anchor business and catalyst for private sector revitalization in historic Downtown Myrtle Beach, inspiring new businesses to latch on and join in our mission of building community and restoring local optimism.
• Imagined and brought to fruition a winning portfolio of brands to meet market needs and conditions in both the taproom and wholesale channels
• Designed effective and easy-to-execute annual business plans, working hand in hand with our wholesalers key personnel to win at the account level in both the on- and off-premise.
• Infiltrated all levels of our wholesaler, establishing personal relationships from ownership all the way down to warehouse and delivery personnel.
• Built GSB into the premier local brewery within the Myrtle Beach market, surpassing major national suppliers within our wholesaler's portfolio.
• Tied Grand Strand Brewing deep within the local community through key relationships, including but not limited to municipal leaders, the local Chamber of Commerce, influential nonprofits, and Coastal Carolina University.
• Activated Grand Strand Brewing through numerous events that built community, drove incremental revenue, and gave back to local philanthropic causes.
• Grew Grand Strand Brewing into a multi-million-dollar operation within three years, becoming the top local supplier within our wholesaler’s portfolio, and a pre-eminent taproom destination for both locals and visitors.
• Developed and tracked all budgets, KPIs, and performance initiatives.
• Directly managed A/R, A/P, cash flow, payroll, banking relationships, bookkeeping, state and local tax filings, business licenses, TTB compliance, OSHA compliance, DHEC compliance, and municipal compliance.

Company Overview: 40,000 BBL Regional Craft Breweries with production facilities in Morganton, NC, Charleston, SC, and Charlotte, NC

• Revived and grew 20-year-old Palmetto Brewery from less than 4,000 BBL in 2013 to over 16,000 BBL in 2017; serving in a wide range of roles, including production, forecasting, brand management, wholesale management, and national account management.
• An integral figure in facilitating the acquisition between Palmetto and Catawba. Post-acquisition, I was tasked with overseeing national accounts, distributor operations, and sales team management for both brands across the Southeast (NC, SC, TN, AL, GA).
• Developed strong relationships with chain category buyers through regular in person meetings, exceptional follow up on account level execution, hand-written correspondence, and delivering administrative requests accurately and on time.
• Increased points of distribution and volume with major chain retailers by always focusing on category growth via price, package, healthy promotion, point-of-purchase marketing campaigns, point-of-sale, and efficient brand assortment.
• Worked extensively with distributor Sales Managers, Brand Managers, and Key Account Managers to reinforce the Palmetto and Catawba's brand strategy during national account calls.
• Made joint visits to major chain retailers to share our brand strategy, demonstrate value to the category, and present a unified supplier/distributor partnership focused on account-level execution and service.
• Elevated Palmetto to #1 South Carolina brewer in South Carolina IRI.
• Elevated Catawba to #3 North Carolina brewer in North Carolina IRI.

Company Overview: 14.5 Million Case Beverage Distributor in coastal South Carolina and coastal Georgia.

• Trained, developed, and motivated a team of young and veteran sales reps to execute key business objectives and service expectations for retailers in the Charleston Metro area.
• Improved retail execution and customer satisfaction.
• Re-structured, re-routed, and implemented a model combining the selling and merchandising of grocery stores into one role.
• Created a more effective account-to-sales-rep ratio and a reduction in the total labor force.
• Resulted in improved inventory control, improved quality control, improved customer relationships, and an annual increase in sales of 18%.
• Collaborated with Key Account and Delivery Directors to implement processes and procedures which enhanced our ability to execute major retailer programs and meet service expectations on time and in full.
• 14.5 Million Case Beverage Distributor in Coastal South Carolina and Coastal Georgia

• Revised and improved the processes for recruiting, selection, onboarding, and developing new hires.
• This resulted in improved new hire performance, employee retention, and increased internal promotions.
• Developed, implemented, and successfully executed a company-wide ‘Ownership Thinking’ model, dramatically improving employee contribution, morale, and operational efficiency.
• Designed and facilitated a 360-degree feedback session for leaders and subordinates, improving multiple-tier communications.
• Implemented and sustained performance management practices to include an employee evaluation process, company-wide talent assessment process, and internal interview process.
• These practices improved employee relationships with direct management, thus improving employee motivation and performance.
• Negotiated $30,000 annually in free Dale Carnegie training for employees in exchange for facility use to host classes.

• Recruited talented, and often over-qualified, individuals into the organization.
• Created a competitive environment within an entry-level department, which became the internal source of talent acquisition for more complex roles.
• Invested countless hours into the coaching and development of over 30 team members across seven counties.
• Dozens of my employees went on to excel in more advanced roles within the company.
• Re-routed and restructured the merchandising department to create individual responsibilities, team accountability, and clearly defined performance standards.
• Reduced mileage reimbursement by $20,000 annually.
• Created a predictable and consistent workflow schedule which in turn reduced negative attrition and improved job performance.

Company Overview: Marketer, Producer, and Distributor of Coca-Cola Products.

• Responsible for executing and closing sales calls for over 70 convenience retail customers in the Jacksonville area.
• Developed excellent customer relationships by delivering in areas most important to retailers: service, merchandising, and inventory control, which resulted in the ability to sell incremental display space, equipment, and customer marketing agreements.
• Pressed management and human resources for more clearly defined performance expectations which resulted in visibly tracked performance metrics, and quarterly incentives for all sales employees.