Two former Anheuser-Busch executives join outdoor supplies company
How’s this for a burly career track: Mike Owens and Steve Uline left jobs selling beer at Anheuser-Busch. Now, both of the avid outdoorsmen are selling hunting and camping supplies.
In the words of a certain beer commercial: Dude. (As in, sweet).
Both Owens and Uline have joined Gander Mountain Co. of St. Paul, Minn. Gander Mountain is a big retail network of stores for hunting, fishing, boating, camping, marine and outdoor lifestyle apparel and products.
Owens will serve as executive vice president and chief operating officer and Uline will work as senior vice president of marketing. Lager Heads wishes them well. It will be interesting to see if some of the other senior execs who have left A-B will stay in the beer industry, hang up the working life for good, or — like Owens and Uline — find new industries to explore.
Owens was a 27-year veteran of Anheuser-Busch; he left as InBev took over the St. Louis-based brewer. He most recently served as the company’s vice president of business operations. Prior to that, he worked as Anheuser-Busch’s vice president of sales and marketing.
Uline worked for Anheuser-Busch for 24 years; Most recently, he worked as the company’s vice president of geographic marketing, field media and special event marketing. He was responsible for local marketing in the company’s largest beer markets and was involved in national marketing efforts. Prior to that, he directed the company’s sports marketing.
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Jeremiah McWilliams is a native Virginian who came to the Post-Dispatch in early 2007 to cover beer and other consumer products. He previously covered manufacturing for the Virginian-Pilot newspaper in Norfolk, Va. He is a graduate of Washington and Lee University. 
Maybe they can convince Gander Mountain to build one in STL. They could at least keep Bass Pro and Cabelas on their toes.
I think we’ll see a Gander Mountain store in MO soon since the owner resides in STL, and now with the addition of these two ex AB executives to the company.
The brain drain has begun. wonder how many other high paid execs will be leaving the area.
Caddis, gander mountain is a public company traded on the nasdaq exchange. may be a large stockholder in stl. but he/she doesn’t own the company.
Have you been to a Gander Mountain store? These two guys have their work cut out for them if the intend to compete with Bass Pro or Cabelas in the retail environment.
I would rate Gander Mountain retail stores as a cross between Wal-Mart in appearance and service level, and cabela’s in quantity of inventory.
After having worked at a first class, quality company for the amount of years as these two men, I hope they can bring an increased level of quality and service.
Good Luck
I thought David Pratt was a smart man. I feel sorry for Gander Mtn. Owens led A-B marketing for seven years and couldn’t fend off the competition or increase market share on close to a $1billion a year budget.
I find it highly amusing that still_work_there finds Owens to blame for all of AB’s market share problems. As an AB insider, I can tell Lager Heads readers that Owens worked tirelessly to lead AB in the right direction in both his Sales and Marketing role as well as to cut overhead in his later position in procurement for the company. It’s no easy road with two inept Busch family CEO’s to fight against as well as a consumer market that was evolving in tastes. If still_work_there was really in the know, he would have known these facts.
Funny, sounds like InBev got the raw end of the deal here being stuck with still_work_there. Props to Pratt and Gander Mountain for picking up two real class acts from AB.
Hmmm. In the Know is right that MJO isn’t to blame for ALL of the market share problems, but responsibility for 7+ years of zero growth has to at least partially fall with the guy at the helm. MJO was not as concerned with getting results as he was with making sure he was on the newest corporate jet. He was the quintessential ’style over substance’. Good luck to Gander Mountain.
“Shhhhhhhh, be vewy vewy quiet; I’m hunting wabbits, heheheheheheh,”
Mike Owens will probably hire some of his old boys club members that were also fired from AB. Owens, destroyed a great company by only thinking about himself and all is little buddies…..which most of them have been let go also…. buy at Bass Pro Shop please……