Russell G. Cleary

Russell G. Cleary (May 22, 1933 – May 1, 1997) was an American brewer who was known for building the G. Heileman Brewing Company from the 15th in the brewing industry up to 4th during his tenure as president and CEO of the company from 1971 to 1989.[1]

Russell G. Cleary
Born(1933-05-22)May 22, 1933
Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin
DiedMay 1, 1997(1997-05-01) (aged 63)
La Crosse, Wisconsin
Alma materUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison
OccupationPresident of the G. Heileman Brewing Company
Years active1971-1989, 1994-1997
Spouse(s)Gail Cleary (1955)
ChildrenKristine Cleary,
Sandra Cleary
RelativesRoy Kumm, father-in-law,
Lillian Hope Kumm, mother-in-law

Background

Russell G. Cleary was born in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin; however, he was orphaned at a young age. Following his parents' deaths, he went to live with his aunt and grandmother in La Crosse, Wisconsin.[2][3] While in La Crosse, Cleary attended Franklin Elementary School, and Logan Junior and Senior High Schools. While at Logan High School, Cleary was editor of the school's yearbook and a leader on the debate team.[4] Following his high school graduation, Cleary attended the University of La Crosse three year pre-law program and was accepted to the University of Wisconsin Law School in 1954, graduating in 1957. Cleary had the intention of moving to Reedsburg, Wisconsin to begin a law practice, but he and his wife returned to La Crosse, and he began working in real estate law.[2]

Roy Kumm became president of the G. Heileman Brewing Company in 1957 and Cleary began working occasionally with Kumm on labor negotiations and business acquisitions.[2]

G. Heileman Brewing Company
The front entrance of 100 Harborview Drive in La Crosse, WI. Once the corporate headquarters of the G. Heileman Brewing Company.

Cleary joined Heileman full-time as legal counsel for the company in 1960. Only four years after working at Heileman, Cleary was promoted to Vice President and General Counsel of the company.[3] Instead of merely assisting with labor contracts and acquisitions, Cleary was in charge of the following:

  • labor negotiations
  • acquisitions
  • integration of acquired firms
  • labor relations
  • supervision of legal matters
  • divisional advertising
  • company-owned real estate

In 1967 Cleary was named to the Board of Directors.[5] Four years later Kumm resigned as president of the company due to health reasons, and he died only months later.[6] Following Kumm's resignation and death, Cleary was made president of the G. Heileman Brewing Company. One of Cleary's first moves as president was to acquire several breweries as a part of Heileman's 1972 purchase of Associated Brewing. The purchase of the company resulted in Heileman being catapulted up to 8th in the industry. The jump from 15th to 8th resulted in Heileman's stock being traded on the New York Stock Exchange for the first time in May 1973.[7] After the large jump in rank, Cleary went on a campaign to even further Heileman's standing in the brewing industry ranks.

Cleary thought Heileman was the only viable company to compete with Anheuser-Busch and Miller.[8] He continued his campaign of acquiring failing breweries, making several significant deals throughout his tenure as president. In 1977, Heileman purchased the Rainier brands and plant in Seattle, Washington. There was a deal in 1979 to acquire the Carling brands and several plants (Frankenmuth, Michigan; Baltimore, Maryland; Belleville, Illinois; Phoenix, Arizona, among others, which Heileman quickly sold or liquidated). Several contracts in 1983 put Heileman under control of a plant in Perry, Georgia; San Antonio, Texas, where they also purchased the Lone Star brand; and the Blitz-Weinhard Brewery; and brands in Portland, Oregon. Cleary's last major brewery move came in 1986 when Heileman finished the construction on a Val Blatz Microbrewery in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to produce the Blatz brand, which they had purchased in 1969.[9]

"The best way for me to describe Russ Cleary is through comparison. I have to say without any qualifications that I have more respect for this man than any other man whom I've been associated with in this industry and there are a couple reasons. First, his aggressiveness and his strong will not to be intimidated, not to take a back seat or lose."[10]

- John Pedace, Heileman's Vice President of Marketing

As a boss, Cleary was well liked by his employees and wholesalers, having gone to high school with many of them. He was also well respected by his employees due to his union relations, as the union in La Crosse had some of the highest wages in the area.[11] Many of his colleagues at Heileman and within the industry had positive things to say about Cleary.

Awards

Due to his commitment to the company and the La Crosse community, over the years, Cleary received many awards.[12] Among his awards from the La Crosse area and the numerous financial and business magazines were the following:

  • 1969 - Awarded one of the 100 Outstanding Men of America by the Junior Chamber of Commerce
  • 1979 - Awarded the #1 Citizen of the Year of the City of La Crosse by the Mayor and City Council
  • 1980 - Awarded the Executive of the Year Award by Corporate Report Magazine
  • 1986 - Awarded the Entrepreneur of the year Award by Arthur Young
  • 1987 - Awarded the CEO of the Year Beverage Industry Bronze Award by Financial World Magazine
  • 1993 - Inducted to the Boys and Girls Club Wall of Fame

Retirement

One of the stipulations with the Bond Corporation was that Cleary stayed on as head of the company. After an additional two years at the Bond-run brewing company, Cleary finally announced his retirement in 1989. Cleary only briefly came out of retirement after Alan Bond went bankrupt and was forced to sell Heileman to Hicks, Muse, Tate, and Furst in 1994. He remained with the company until it was sold to the Stroh Brewing Company in 1996.[8]

Cleary died in May 1997 after complications from heart surgery.[13]

Involvement

During his retirement, Cleary became involved in a number of new ventures, including opening a real estate company, called Cleary Management Inc., which he continued to run when he rejoined Heileman in 1994. However, he was involved in a number of other organizations throughout his career at Heileman, especially in the La Crosse area.[12] His involvement included, but was not limited to:

PositionOrganizationTime RangeYears with Org.
Director Greater La Crosse Chamber of Commerce 1964-1968 4
Director The National Bank of Wisconsin - La Crosse 1975-1975 10
Director, Vice President La Crosse Festivals, Inc./Oktoberfest U.S.A 1966-1979 13
Director, President Reorganized La Crosse Interstate Fair Association 1968-1972 4
Campaign Chairman, President La Crosse Area United Way 1968-1970 2
Chairman City of La Crosse Redevelopment Authority 1971-1973 2
Director U.S.B.A/The Beer Institute 1971-1989 18
Director, Member of Executive Committee Protection Mutual Insurance Company 1974-1997 23
Director Gundersen Medical Foundation 1975-1978 3
Director 9th District Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis 1975-1981 6
Director The Trane Company 1978-1984 6
Director University of Wisconsin - La Crosse Foundation, Inc. 1979-1985 6
Director ECOLAB, Inc. of St. Paul, MN 1981-1997 16
Director Norwest Bank Minneapolis, N.A 1981-1983 2
President's Club Hamline University of St. Paul, MN 1981-1984 3
Director WI Association of Manufacturers and Commerce 1983-1986 3
Director A.O. Smith Company 1984-1997 13
Director Soo Line Railroad Company 1984-1990 6
Member of the WI Strategic Development Commission Wisconsin Government 1984-1986 2
Trustee Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation 1986-1997 11
Director Robert W. Baird Capital Group 1986-1990 4
Director The Company Store, Inc. 1989-1993 4
Chairman of the Board, President Cleary Management Corp. 1989-1997 8
Chairman of the Board First State Bancorp, Inc. of La Crosse, WI 1990-1997 7
Director Kohler Company 1992-1994 2

Personal life

Russell Cleary met his future wife, Gail Kumm, daughter of Roy E. Kumm, when the pair were juniors in high school. They went on to marry in 1955, when Gail's father was a comptroller of the G. Heileman Brewing Company.[10] The couple had two children together: Kristine, a lawyer; and Sandra, an accountant.[14] Following Cleary's death in 1997, Gail, Kristine, and Sandra took over control at Cleary Management.

Cleary was also very involved in Oktoberfest U.S.A, and was the Festmaster for the 1990 Oktoberfest.[15]

Notes
  1. Carvajal, Doreen (May 3, 1997). "Russell G. Cleary, 63, Dies; Ex-Head of Heileman Brewing". The New York Times. The New York Times.
  2. Pauly, Helen (March 20, 1983). "Heileman's Heady Success: La Crosse Man Takes the Nation's Brewing Industry by Storm". The Milwaukee Journal: Insight (Russell Cleary: Bringing Prosperity to la Crosse): 5–8.
  3. Christensen, Wayne (January 1980). "Russell G. Cleary: Executive of the Year: Under the Down-Home Direction of its Chief Executive, G. Heileman has Joined the Big Leagues of Brewing". The Corporate Report: 53–55.
  4. Koeller, Paul D.; DeLano, David H. (2004). Brewed with Style: The Story of the House of Heileman. La Crosse, WI: University of Wisconsin - La Crosse. p. 205.
  5. Koeller, Paul D.; DeLano, David H. (2004). Brewed with Style: The Story of the House of Heileman. La Crosse, WI: University of Wisconsin - La Crosse. p. 37.
  6. "Roy E. Kumm, Industrial, Civic Leader, Dies at 58". La Crosse Tribune. March 18, 1971.
  7. Koeller, Paul D.; DeLano, David H. (2004). Brewed with Style: The Story of the House of Heileman. La Crosse, WI: University of Wisconsin - La Crosse. p. 45.
  8. Apps, Jerry (1992). Breweries of Wisconsin. Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press. ISBN 9780299206536.
  9. Koeller, Paul D.; DeLano, David H. (2004). Brewed with Style: The Story of the House of Heileman. La Crosse, WI: University of Wisconsin - La Crosse. pp. 158–159.
  10. Lederer, Bob (January 1977). "Russ Cleary Confounds the Experts: How Regional G. Heileman Brewing Co. Got to be the Fastest Growing, Best Earner in the Business". Beverage World: 29–31, 46–48.
  11. Koeller, Paul D.; DeLano, David H. (2004). Brewed with Style: The Story of the House of Heileman. La Crosse, WI: University of Wisconsin - La Crosse. p. 206.
  12. Koeller, Paul D.; DeLano, David H. (2004). Brewed with Style: The Story of the House of Heileman. La Crosse, WI: University of Wisconsin - La Crosse. pp. 205–207.
  13. "Russell G. Cleary, 63, Who Built the G. Heileman Co". The Baltimore Sun. The Baltimore Sun. May 4, 1997. Retrieved 13 March 2017.
  14. Koeller, Paul D.; DeLano, David H. (2004). Brewed with Style: The Story of the House of Heileman. La Crosse, WI: University of Wisconsin - La Crosse. p. 205.
  15. "Past Festmasters and Fraus". Oktoberfest U.S.A. La Crosse Festivals, Inc. Retrieved 14 March 2017.
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