Presenter: Lester Jones, Beer Institute, Washington, DC
The U.S. beer industry is in the midst of significant
demographic and economic changes. The combined impacts
of the 2008 recession and the coming-of-age of the millennial
generation have clearly left their mark on the U.S. beer
business. Despite these setbacks, the beer industry has adapted
to a new marketplace and set a new course. The Beer Institute
and its predecessor organization, the USBA, have been tracking
the beer industry since the 1940s and have gathered detailed
data and insights that help explain where we have been and
where we may go from here.
Lester Jones serves as chief economist and senior director
of research services for the Beer Institute. In this capacity,
he serves as the primary researcher and economist on issues
affecting brewers and importers of more than 90% of the
beer consumed in the United States. He is responsible for
the biennial “Beer Serves America” study showing the total
contribution of the beer industry to America’s economy through
the impact of jobs, wages, and taxes, from the national level
to individual state legislative districts. He is also a regular
presenter at industry events around the country and comments
on industry trends in consumption, taxation, and economic
policy. Lester joined the Beer Institute in 2004 and brings 20
years of business and economic research experience to the
beer industry’s national trade association. Prior to joining the
Beer Institute, Lester was with Arbitron, Inc., an international
media and marketing research firm. At Arbitron, he managed
consumer research studies. Prior to Arbitron, he was assistant
director of the Regional Economics Studies Institute at Towson
State University. Lester received his M.S. degree in economics
from the University of Delaware, where he specialized in
regional economics and forecasting. He obtained his B.A.
degree in economics from the University of Maryland Baltimore
County.
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