Photo | Courtesy of Wormtown Brewery
David Fields, CEO of Wormtown Brewery
July 16, 2021
Following sexual harassment allegations, Wormtown names David Fields as CEO, other leadership changes
Photo | Courtesy of Wormtown
Inside Wormtown's Shrewsbury Street taproom
Wormtown Brewery in Worcester has named Managing Partner David Fields as CEO, according to a company memo dated Monday.
The announcement comes roughly six weeks after four of the company’s five leaders stepped back from business operations in light of allegations of workplace sexual harassment and discrimination circulated on social media in May. Fields, who served as managing partner at the time and was not explicitly named in any public allegations of misbehavior, was among those to step back. He officially became the CEO on Monday.
Partner Rich Clarke, Partner Jay “Digger” Clarke and CFO Kary Shumway also stepped back in May, leaving Founding Partner Ben Roesch to lead the Worcester brewery in the interim.
Monday’s memo said Shumway would continue serving as CFO moving forward, and said two other employees have been fired. One unnamed owner has agreed to permanently step back from day-to-day business operations. Jay Clarke, the only member of leadership named in the accusations surfaced in May, indicates on his LinkedIn he ceased serving as a co-owner of Wormtown in March. The only active job position on his account is owner of a New Hampshire car wash.
Wormtown did not respond when asked whether Jay Clarke is the owner permanently stepping back.
“This has been a difficult period of time for all of us, and we continue to be very troubled by the allegations of harassment and discrimination shared on social media and in the press in addition to those overcovered by our own internal processes,” Fields and General Manager Scott Metzger said in Monday’s memo. “We want to continue to stress two things – one, harassment and discrimination are not and will never be acceptable, and two, that we are committed to substantial actions to improve our workplace culture.”
The pair noted Wormtown had already formed an internal team to identify recommendations relative to diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts prior to the allegations surfacing in May. The team’s recommendations for the company included updating policies and procedures related to reporting harassment and inappropriate work conduct, providing training around proper workplace behavior, and improving HR resources.
Monday’s memo indicates the company is committed to investigating all reports of workplace misconduct, updating the company handbook and hiring Wormtown's first-ever full-time human resources professional.
Metzger and Fields said Wormtown will be forming an advisory board, which will include owners and unaffiliated professionals.
“Along with these organizational changes, comes a new, clear strategic direction for our brewery family members so that we are all on the same page and understand where the company aspires to go,” the pair said in the memo.
Wormtown was founded in 2010 and is the fourth largest brewery headquartered in Central Massachusetts, and the largest in the city of Worcester. In 2020, it brewed 27,913 barrels of beer. Wormtown opened a taproom at Patriot Place in Foxborough in 2019, and in the same year was named the official brewery of the Worcester Red Sox. Earlier this year, it expanded its space on Shrewsbury Street.
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