BrewDog CEO James Watt says he ‘thinks he might be autistic’ after he admitted ‘I pushed people too far’ amid workplace culture row as he was accused of inappropriate behaviour and abuse of power at craft brewery
- BrewDog’s James Watt says he may have autism and is seeking a diagnosis after workplace culture rows
- He said he pushes people ‘too far’ but says his intentions were ‘100% good’ on the Diary of a CEO podcast
- He spoke to Steven Bartlett about his journey, including how he was bullied for a speech impediment
- James Watt is the CEO of BrewDog, a craft beer company which is valued at £2billion
- The firm, founded in 2007, is based in Ellon, Scotland and runs 111 bars and has 2,000 staff
The CEO of craft beer firm BrewDog said he is seeking an autism diagnosis after he admitted pushing people ‘too far’ in a workplace culture row, where he was accused of inappropriate behaviour and abusing his power.
James Watt, 38, the chief executive of Britain’s biggest craft brewer, has been at the centre of a string of misconduct accusations in recent years after being accused of inappropriate behaviour towards women at work.
Speaking with Steven Bartlett on the Diary of a CEO podcast about his leadership at the company, he revealed that he may have ‘light-level autism’ and that his doctor thinks it’s ‘possible’ he has the developmental disability.
Autism is characterised by challenges with social skills, repetitive behaviours, speech and communication.
He revealed: ‘I think I might have some kind of light-level autism in the mix that would explain some of the social cue thing, some of the mindset thing, and some of the awkwardness as well.
‘Because of that exact quote — and I was chatting with my doctor, and she’s like, ‘I’ve thought that for a while, James, quite possibly’. So I’m working with a specialist at the moment to see if there’s a diagnosis there or not.’
BrewDog CEO James Watt admitted to that he believes he might have autism. He also said in the interview that he had been ‘too intense and demanding’ after he was accused of inappropriate behaviour and abuse of power in a workplace culture row. Last year, dozens of his staff signed a letter accusing him of creating a ‘rotten culture’ at work. This year, a string of sexual misconduct allegations also came to light during a BBC documentary
The CEO also said that he suffered with a serious speech impediment when he was younger – and that he wouldn’t speak to people growing up as he was worried about being bullied for it.
He said: ‘I had quite a severe speech impediment when I was growing up. That kind of always made me a bit of an outsider, always felt socially awkward.
‘The speech impediment was something that all the kids loved to make fun of. When I was as four, five, six, seven, eight, there were certain words and and letters that I just couldn’t say. I worked really hard with a speech therapist.
‘Because of that, I just wouldn’t speak to people because I was scared to let them see that I had a speech impediment. I was very quiet, very insular.’
The BrewDog boss also opened up about his tumultuous relationship with his mother – who he said had created a ‘voice’ in his head growing up.
He told Bartlett about an instance where his mother crushed his dreams of becoming a marine biologist at nine-years-old – since sharks were his favourite animal.
Mr Watt said: ‘My favourite hobby is diving with sharks, I’m happiest when I’m underwater with sharks.’
But his mother sat him down one evening and went through the authors in one of his favourite shark books – pointing out that all the writers had PhDs.
He added: ‘She went through the four authors in the shark book. She said “It’s just not something you’re going to be able to do, so you’ve got to stop telling people that you want to be a marine biologist.”‘
In the interview, Mr Watt also admitted to being ‘too intense and demanding’ as a boss because of his ‘high standards.’
But the CEO – whose company has been accused of having a ‘rotten culture’ – said that his actions were done with ‘100% good intentions.’
Father-of-two Mr Watt revealed: ‘It’s completely fair to say at times in the journey I have been too intense.
‘I have been too demanding, that I have set standards for the team which I would set for myself, and for a lot of the team members that is unattainable.
‘I just pushed for such high standards, unrealistic deadlines, it’s because I was so focused on ‘let’s build the thing, let’s create more jobs, let’s deliver more value for our customers.’
‘The intention was 100% good and because I was so bought in and so focused on that, I did push people too far.’
The CEO and father-of-two (left) spoke about the issues he has dealt with at the company with Steven Bartlett (right) on his podcast
Steven Bartlett interviewed the CEO – who said he believes he created ‘high standards’ and ‘unrealistic deadlines’ in the workplace. Bartlett (pictured) has interviewed some of Britain’s best business owners, including Love Island’s Molly-Mae Hague and Gymshark’s Ben Francis
This comes after more than 15 ex-staff previously spoke out against Mr Watt with some claiming he made female bartenders feel ‘uncomfortable’ and ‘powerless’.
They were even advised by colleagues on how to avoid unwelcome attention from Mr Watt, 38, according to an investigation by BBC Scotland’s Disclosure programme.
Katelynn Ising, who worked at a BrewDog bar in Ohio, US, said female staff would dress down when they knew Mr Watt would be in their bars.
She said: ‘We would make a point to warn new girls… like, ‘Hey, just so you know, James Watt’s coming to town. Just kind of, like, leave after your shift, don’t really hang around [and] don’t always do your hair and make-up that day, like don’t catch his attention’.’
Other former staff claim Mr Watt was witnessed by staff kissing an intoxicated customer on a roof terrace at another US bar.
Mr Watt has said the allegations are false and denies behaving inappropriately.
Last year, Watts’ disgruntled former employees shared a scathing open letter slamming the company for its ‘toxic attitudes’ and accusing it of fostering a ‘culture of fear’ among staff.
Penned by a group called ‘Punks With Purpose’, the letter featured a list of 63 names of people who used to work for the firm, and takes aim at the Scotland-based brewery’s founders James Watt and Martin Dickie.
James Watt, chief executive of craft beer maker BrewDog, has been accused of ‘making women feel uncomfortable’, according to an investigation by BBC Scotland’s Disclosure programme
James Watt (right) with co-founder Martin Dickie (left). Mr Watt denies all accusations that he acted inappropriately towards women
Writing collectively as a group called ‘Punks With Purpose’, the letter featured a list of names of people who used to work for the firm, and takes aim at the Scotland-based brewery’s founders
BrewDog CEO James Watt and his misconduct accusations
In June 2021, almost 300 former and current Brewdog employees signed a letter accusing Mr Watt of creating a toxic fear culture at BrewDog.
The letter stated that a ‘significant number’ of former staff had ‘suffered mental illness’ as a result of working at Brewdog.
At the time, the CEO responded: ‘I want to be very candid about some mistakes that I have made that have detrimentally impacted our culture.
‘In the hard and fast environment of high growth, I have all too often neglected many important people elements of our business.
‘Furthermore, despite surviving C-19 due to a phenomenal effort from our amazing team I had to make some very hard decisions to ensure our survival and these decisions have taken a considerable human toll on our business and had a negative impact.
‘Additionally, some PR mistakes that I have made in our past have also had a detrimental impact on culture.
I can promise that I will not make these mistakes again.’
In January 2022, James Watt faced further accusations of inappropriate behaviour and abuse of power in the workplace by former staff.
Over 15 ex-staff spoke out about his conduct on the BBC’s Disclosure programme.
Specifically, he was called out for making female bartenders feel ‘uncomfortable’ and ‘powerless’.
A string of misconduct accusations were included in the programme, including that he kissed an intoxicated customer on a roof terrace bar, and took women on late night private brewery tours, which left staff feeling uncomfortable.
He was called a ‘starer’ by former staff members, and managers said they would schedule women to not be at work if they knew Mr Watt was in town visiting.
The BBC Disclosure programme made no allegations of criminal behaviour with women by Mr Watt.
He denies all the allegations
It claimed the company is ‘built on a cult of personality’ and alleged that it left some staff feeling ‘burnt out, afraid and miserable’, adding that ‘a significant number of people have admitted they have suffered mental illness’ as a result of working there.
It went so far as to claim being treated like a human being ‘was sadly not always a given’ for those employed by BrewDog – trashing the image of the hipster company which offers ‘pawternity leave’ if a staff member gets a dog and pays employees £500 to quit if they don’t feel they’re a good fit.
At the time, Mr Watt subsequently issued an ‘update’ on the Punks With Purpose open letter, describing it as ‘so upsetting, but so important’.
He said: ‘Our focus now is not on contradicting or contesting the details of that letter, but to listen, learn and act.’
Mr Watt also tweeted that the suggestion it was he who sent round the counter letter which ‘dismissed the deeply-held fears of current and former staff’ was ‘untrue’, stressing: ‘The email came from our people team, not myself. The letter is drafted by our teams who feel it is important to make their voice heard too.’
The Punks With Purpose letter opened by addressing recent of sexism, discrimination and sexual harassment and abuse made by women working in the craft beer industry.
It stateed its purpose is to make known the feelings of former staff regarding ‘the atmosphere fostered at BrewDog, since its inception, in the hope that it might explain why so many allegations have come to light’.
‘BrewDog was, and is, built on a cult of personality,’ it read. ‘Since day one, you have sought to exploit publicity, both good and bad (and usually with the faces of James and Martin front and centre) to further your own business goals.
‘Your mission might genuinely be to make other people as passionate about craft beer as you are (and in a sense you have succeeded – your fanbase certainly has some true zealots in its ranks), but the ambitions you impressed on your team have always seemed business-led.
‘Growth, at all costs, has always been perceived as the number one focus for the company, and the fuel you have used to achieve it is controversy.’
The letter alleged that several of BrewDog’s famous PR campaigns – including the founders both changing their names to Elvis, sending ‘protest beer to Russia’ and offering its employees ‘pawternity leave’ when they get a pet – were built on ‘lies, hypocrisy and deceit’.
It went on: ‘You spent years claiming you wanted to be the best employer in the world, presumably to help you to recruit top talent, but ask former staff what they think of those claims, and you’ll most likely be laughed at. Being treated like a human being was sadly not always a given for those working at BrewDog.’
The letter claimed that employees from all departments within the business, from production and bartending to marketing and HR have signed the letter, because they felt that in their day to day working lives there were ‘at best hurdles, and at worst genuine safety concerns’.
‘We felt that no matter how these were raised, the likelihood was we would be met with some variation on “that’s just the way things are”,’ it argues. ‘Sometimes it was linked to James directly, sometimes it was because someone in a position of power felt enabled to act in such a manner. We believe these toxic attitudes towards junior staff trickled down throughout the business from day one, until they were simply an intrinsic part of the company.’
It added that many of them started their jobs there having eagerly bought into the BrewDog ethos, but discovered that ‘fast paced’ meant ‘unmanageable’ and ‘challenging’ meant ‘demanding’.
The letter also alleged that some senior staff members ‘belittled’ others beneath them and ‘pressured them into working beyond their capacity’ to the point where they eventually felt ‘forced out of the business’.
It claimed the single biggest shared experience of former staff is ‘a residual feeling of fear’, both of the atmosphere and the repercussions if they were to speak out. It claimed ‘many’ felt unable to sign the letter because doing so would ‘leave them feeling extremely vulnerable’.
Dragons’ Den investors turned down best deal in show’s history when they refused to put £100K into BrewDog that would ‘now be worth £360m’
In March 2021, CEO and co-founder of BrewDog Mr Watt, 38, claimed his plea for investment turned down by Dragons’ Den 13 years ago would now be worth £360m – the best deal in the programme’s history.
He said they ‘pitched our hearts out’ to the BBC show in 2008 but only got as far as the screen test before he was rejected by producers.
The craft beer company was just two years old at the time, and along with business partner Martin Dickie, he asked for £100,000 for 20 per cent of the business.
But he later revealed a recent valuation of the brew company means the Dragons’ missed investment would now be worth a staggering £360 million. Writing on LinkedIn, he said: ‘In 2008 we applied to Dragons’ Den & got as far as a screen test and we pitched our hearts out before the producers rejected us.
‘They deemed Martin and myself not investment worthy – we were totally crushed. Based on our latest BrewDog valuation, that investment would be now worth almost £360m. That means the Dragons missed out on by far the best deal in Den history.’
James said their pitch was rejected because it ‘was not unique enough, special enough or with enough growth potential to make the grade’.
The letter then personally accused Mr Watt for being responsible for the company’s ‘rotten culture’, claiming in the wake of his success are people ‘left burnt out, afraid and miserable’. It ends by demanding a ‘genuine apology’ for the people who felt they were ‘harassed, assaulted, belittled, insulted or gaslighted’.
In response at the time, Mr Watt said: ‘At BrewDog our people are our main priority, which is why the open letter we saw on Twitter was so upsetting, but so important,’ it said.
‘Our focus now is not on contradicting or contesting the details of that letter, but to listen, learn and act.
‘At BrewDog we are focussed on building the best business we can. We have always tried to do the best by our team — we do have many thousands of employees with positive stories to tell as a result. But the tweet we saw last night proves that on many occasions we haven’t got it right. We are committed to doing better, not just as a reaction to this, but always; and we are going to reach out to our entire team past and present to learn more.
‘But most of all, right now, we are sorry. It’s hard to hear those comments, but it must have been harder to say them. We appreciate that and we will endeavour to honour that effort and courage with the real change it deserves.
‘We aren’t going to make excuses, we’re going to take action. From our commitment to sustainability to our passion for beer, BrewDog has always been defined by taking responsibility and continually improving. This is no exception.’
Earlier this year, it was revealed that the BrewDog boss was privately prosecuting a woman he claimed provided false information about people behind ‘malicious’ comments made about him online.
He accused model Emili Ziem, 29, at Westminster Magistrates’ Court of fraud by false representation.
The charge alleges that she breached the Fraud Act 2006 because she ‘obtained information about people responsible for malicious communications’ about Mr Watt.
Bark & Co, on behalf of its client Ziem, previously said: ‘Emili Ziem is entirely innocent of these charges.
‘She vehemently denies any wrongdoing and intends to defend these allegations robustly at trial in the crown court.’
The case has been brought against her as a private prosecution by Watt as an individual rather than Brewdog as a company, which he co-founded in 2007.
The firm based in Ellon, Scotland – which is valued at about £2billion, runs 111 bars and has 2,000 staff – is said to be currently weighing up a stock market listing.
The open letter was shared on Twitter last year. It was signed by 61 former employees, plus ’45 and counting who did not feel safe to include their names or initials’
CHILDHOOD FRIENDS WHO NOW OWN A £620MILLION STAKE IN BREWDOG
Mr Watt, pictured right with business partner Martin Dickie, issued an official statement this morning saying BrewDog is ‘sorry’ and is going to ‘take action’ rather than ‘make excuses’
The Aberdeen-born founders of BrewDog, James Watt, 38, and Martin Dickie, started up their own brewery at the age of 24 on an industrial estate in 2007. They decided on the name because Mr Watt’s father Jim had recently got a puppy.
According to Forbes, Mr Watt’s 24 per cent stake in the company is worth around £338million, while Mr Dickie’s 20 per cent stake is worth around £282m.
Mr Watt, who is married with two daughters, is now CEO and has very much been the face of the company since its inception. He comes from a family of fishermen and used to help his father on his fishing boat in the North Sea. On his LinkedIn profile he claims to be a ‘fully qualified deep sea captain’.
He graduated from Edinburgh University with a degree in law and economics. After landing a job as a trainee solicitor he quit after two weeks – branding ‘conforming’ as ‘painful at best – and, three years later, started BrewDog with Mr Dickie.
The business struggled at first but took off when, after around six months, Tesco placed an order to sell its beer across the country.
In 2014, Mr Watt won Great British Entrepreneur of the Year, and in 2016 both he and Mr Dickie were awarded an MBE.
Mr Dickie, also married and a father-of-three, has kept a quieter public profile than his business partner – though he did ride an Abbott 433 tank through Camden in north London to mark the opening of their first bar in England.
The pair grew up as best friends and became flatmates when they both lived in Edinburgh.
He studied distilling at Heriot-Watt and spent several years after graduating working in a variety of distilleries and breweries across the UK, including Thornbridge Brewery in Derbyshire.
In December Mr Dickie launched his own CBD brand – HBHM – which stands for Happy Body Happy Mind.
The pair grew up as best friends and became flatmates when they both lived in Edinburgh
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