The new leader of the Genesee Brewery started his job this week and Kris Sirchio is looking to build on the relationship his company already has with the Rochester community.
Sirchio was named CEO of North American Breweries, the company that has owned the Genesee Brewery for the last five years, and he looks to build on the growth that has already occurred in recent years.
Genesee now employs about 550 people, and Sirchio says one key to growing employment will be community support; something he thinks has already started to happen, especially with the popularity of the Genesee Brew House.
Sirchio says their parent company, Florida Ice & Farm, which is a Costa Rican business, has a philosophy that includes good environmental stewardship, such as finding ways to conserve water.
"I think the target is to save about 110 million gallons of water and that translates down for the community, it translates down to the bottom line, and it's just good business."
And Sirchio says even though the parent company of Genesee is in another country, local people shouldn't worry about them having a long term commitment to this area.
"We've got a company that has a family history, wants to build and invest and they are willing to really connect with this community, and that's what you're going to see."
Sirchio's past experience includes a stint as executive at Brown-Forman, a global maker of alcoholic beverages that include Jack Daniels.
