MadTree Brewing names first CEO and COO as growth demands increase

MadTree Brewing just made the kind of move that says a regional craft brewery is no longer thinking like a startup. By naming Rhiannon Hoeweler as its first CEO and Justin Wiener as its first COO, effective April 29, 2026, the Cincinnati company signaled that growth now requires a more formal playbook, with strategy and day-to-day execution split at the top.

Hoeweler had been MadTree’s vice president of experience and impact, while Wiener served as vice president of revenue. Co-founders Brady Duncan and Kenny McNutt said the change was part of a four-year strategic plan to professionalize the business, and the Business Courier described it as the culmination of a two-year transition away from founder control. CityBeat noted that the new CEO and COO structure was a first for the brewery and said Hoeweler had been credited with growing the company’s community impact, culture and overall business.

That shift matters because MadTree has long been more than a taproom brewery. Founded in 2013, it was the first brewery in Ohio to can craft beer, then expanded with an $18 million brewery in Oakley that opened in February 2017. Today MadTree lists locations in Oakley, Over-the-Rhine and Blue Ash, a footprint that looks more like a multi-site hospitality business than a single neighborhood brewery.

The company’s latest impact report shows why the executive change fits the moment. MadTree says it is B Corp certified, a member of 1% for the Planet and the only B Corp-certified brewery in Ohio. In 2025, it reported $1,850,213 in total impact toward a $5 million goal by 2030, along with 10,172 trees planted or donated since 2019 and 10,487 hours of service contributed since 2019. Third-party business profiles place MadTree at roughly 340 employees and about $17.3 million in revenue, numbers that help explain why a more traditional executive structure now makes sense.

The broader signal for craft beer is clear: the breweries still expanding are the ones building discipline around finance, staffing, hospitality and brand focus, not just recipe development. Recent reporting has said beer now makes up only about a quarter of MadTree’s sales, with other beverages and hospitality carrying more of the load. For breweries trying to stay independent, the lesson is hard to miss. The winning model is shifting from making great beer alone to managing a wider business with enough discipline to keep the flagships strong, the taprooms busy and the expansion controlled.