# Rich Doyle

> Rich Doyle co-founded Harpoon Brewery, also known as Mass. Bay Brewing Company, in 1986 and led it as CEO until 2014. He subsequently founded Enjoy Beer to help regional craft breweries share resources. His later work includes beverage investing and advising, with a 2024 interview also describing his teaching at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand.

- **Role:** Advisor and Investor at No Sleep Beverage
- **Organizations:** Mass. Bay Brewing Company, Inc. / Harpoon Brewery, Enjoy Beer, No Sleep Beverage, Lonsdale Brewing Inc., University of Canterbury, Brewers Association, Lehman Brothers
- **Education:** Phillips Exeter Academy, BA, Harvard University, MBA, Harvard Business School
- **Known for:** Co-founded the brewery awarded Massachusetts Brewing Permit #001., Led Harpoon through its development into a regional craft brewer with Boston and Vermont facilities., Served as chairman of the Brewers Association.

## Career timeline

- **Before 1986** — Worked at Lehman Brothers in New York before Harvard Business School; earlier beer-industry experience included bartending in New Zealand.
- **1986** — Co-founded Harpoon with Dan Kenary and George Ligeti after graduating from Harvard Business School.
- **1987** — Harpoon Ale reached its first accounts.
- **1993** — Harpoon IPA launched as a summer seasonal, becoming year-round in 1994.
- **2000** — Harpoon acquired a second brewery in Windsor, Vermont.
- **2010** — Submitted testimony on behalf of the Brewers Association to the House Judiciary Committee at its September 29 hearing on H.R. 5034.
- **2013** — Harpoon opened its Boston beer hall.
- **2014** — Stepped down as CEO as a transaction placed 48% of Harpoon into an employee stock ownership plan.
- **2015** — Founded Enjoy Beer; Abita became the founding brewery partner.
- **2024** — Described investments including Hero95 and No Sleep Beverage and teaching at Canterbury.

## Achievements

- Co-founded the brewery awarded Massachusetts Brewing Permit #001.
- Led Harpoon through its development into a regional craft brewer with Boston and Vermont facilities.
- Served as chairman of the Brewers Association.
- Founded Enjoy Beer and established its Abita partnership in 2015.
- Represented the Brewers Association in 2010 congressional testimony about beer distribution.

## Latest updates

- **2026-05** — Darden Business Publishing released Harpoon Brewery: To ESOP or Not? Navigating Ownership Transition, examining the 2014 decision involving Doyle and Kenary.
- **2025-03** — A professional-directory profile updated March 31 listed Doyle as an advisor and investor at No Sleep Beverage.
- **2024-07** — A Phillips Exeter Academy interview described his beverage investments and entrepreneur-in-residence teaching at the University of Canterbury.

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/rich-doyle
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-20