Ian Ward

Ian Ward serves as the Chief Growth Officer for Rahr Corporation, charged with the identification, evaluation and guiding strategic initiatives and investments in Rahr’s operating business units and passive investments taking on the role in March 2020. Ian joined Rahr Corp in 2004, when Rahr acquired Brewers Wholesale Inc. forming the BSG business unit, distributing malt, hops and other brewing ingredients to the craft brewing, winemaking and distilling industries.

From 2004 until 2006 he led the sales team as Commercial VP and in 2006 was promoted to the role of President. During his leadership BSG grew from three operation centers to fourteen across North America with a CAGR growth rate in excess of 25% over 15 years. He led three acquisitions in the U.S and one in Canada, which added four additional sites. In 2011 he led the purchase of a 10-acre apple processing facility in the Yakima Valley for conversion to hop processing and storage. In 2017 he created the BSGi business unit and made two acquisitions. The first: Bevie with operations in New Zealand, UK, Holland and Australia, and later in 2018 invested in a Joint Venture- Bintani with four locations across Australia. He serves on the Boards of both Bevie and Bintani.

He has presented at numerous conferences and meetings throughout North America and Europe on the topics of enzymology, beer clarification and stabilization and latterly the malt and hop industries.

Prior to his work in the U.S. Ian worked for Savilles Clarification, then part of the Laporte Group, as an R&D chemist. Published a number of papers on beer clarification and filed a UK Patent for a novel clarification procedure.

Ian received his PhD in Organic Chemistry from the University of Birmingham in the UK, his research focused on using 1H and 13C nuclear magnetic resonance studies of borate complexes of phenol-formaldehyde polymers used as foundry binders. His undergraduate research focused on lithium ion conducting polymers also at the University of Birmingham receiving a BSc (Hons) in Chemistry.