By Margaret Bliss
How does one remain entrepreneurial while working in a large company? For UCLA Anderson alumnus Pete Marino (’02), CCO of MillerCoors and president of Tenth and Blake, MillerCoors’ craft and import division, the transition wasn’t all that difficult.
In a discussion with Senior Associate Dean Al Osborne at an event hosted by the Harold and Pauline Price Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation, Marino admitted he has always had an entrepreneurial spirit. After a two-year stint with a consulting firm where he honed his business skills, Marino started his own communication firm, Dig Communications. It was his first client, MillerCoors, that helped his company grow to 60 people. Six years later, he sold Dig to Olson PR and stayed on as president before joining MillerCoors as vice president of communications.
At MillerCoors Marino found ways to flex his entrepreneurial skills in a more traditional corporate environment. He realized that companies want individuals who think like entrepreneurs, push the company’s limits, disagree with the status quo and are dissatisfied with a slow pace. “Big companies are too slow in many regards. They need to pick up speed,” said Marino.
Marino looks for these qualities in the hiring process, whether for his own firm or a company team. Any prospective candidate should be able to demonstrate the four As, as he put it. “Aptitude: Do you have the smarts to solve a problem? Attitude: Are you in the right head space? Ambition: How far will you go? And Awareness: Do you know when to listen and when to speak up?”
In what has become an increasingly crowded market, Marino anticipates the craft beer industry to experience a shake-down in the next two years, as distributors reduce the different beers they supply from 1,200 to a number that is more manageable. Those that survive will be assessed on their style, the special way they craft their beer or their brand, all aspects that Marino looks for when acquiring craft breweries. “They need to have strong brand recognition and an interesting marketing model — a fact, place and story,” he said.
What’s next for Marino? Although he still works for a large corporation, Marino admits he is not finished being an entrepreneur. In fact, he owns a restaurant with his wife and keeps his eyes and ears open for interesting investing opportunities.
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