Pete Coors
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Peter Hanson Coors (born September 20, 1946) is a U.S. businessman and entrepreneur. He currently is the chairman of the Coors Brewing Company in Colorado and vice chairman of its parent company, Molson Coors Brewing Company. In October of 2006, Coors was appointed by the University of Colorado Hospital Board of Directors as chairman of the board for the new University of Colorado Hospital Foundation.
Born in Golden, Colorado, Coors graduated from Cornell University with a degree in engineering, and was a member of the Psi Upsilon Fraternity. He also received his MBA from the University of Denver in 1970. He has worked all of his life in various positions at his family's Coors Brewing Company, and he is a multimillionaire.
In 1993 Coors became vice chairman and CEO of the company, and in 2002 he was named Chairman of Coors Brewing Company and Adolph Coors Company. In 2004, Pete Coors "made $332,402 in salary and a $296,917 bonus as chairman of Adolph Coors. He also received 125,000 stock options with a potential value of $13 million," according to the Rocky Mountain News.[1] However, Coors stepped down temporarily from these positions in 2004 to run for the US Senate. After the 2005 merger with Molson, Coors became a Class A Director in the newly formed Molson Coors Brewing Company.[2]
He has served on the boards of U.S. Bancorp, H. J. Heinz Company, and Energy Corp. of America. He is also involved in civic organizations such as the Denver Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America and the National Western Stock Show Association.
Coors is married to Marilyn Coors (née Grosso) and has six children. He is the great-grandson of Adolph Coors, the brewing entrepreneur.
[edit] Senate run
When U.S. Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell declared in 2004 that he was retiring, Coors announced his candidacy. His opponent in the primary election was another conservative, former congressman Bob Schaffer. In their primary, the two candidates got into an ideological battle, as Schaffer attacked Coors because his company had provided benefits to the partners of its gay and lesbian employees, in addition to promoting its beer in gay bars. Coors defended himself by saying that he was opposed to same-sex marriage, and supported a constitutional amendment to ban it. According to the Rocky Mountain News, Coors described his company's ostensibly pro-LGBT practices as "good business, separate from politics."[3]. Coors did note however, that he supported civil unions for gay couples. He defeated Schaffer with 61% of the vote in the primary, with many analysts citing his high name recognition in the state as a primary factor. Coors faced Colorado Attorney General Ken Salazar in the November 2004 election, but Coors was defeated by a margin of 51% to 47%. [4]
According to the non-partisan Center for Responsive Politics (CPS), Coors gave his own campaign $1,213,657 and received individual donations of $60,550 from other Coors family members. Scott Coors, the openly gay marketing director of Coors, who also sits on the Human Rights Campaign's Business Council[5] gave Pete Coors a $1000 contribution. The Rocky Mountain News reported Scott Coors "made a salary of $104,656 plus bonuses of $24,163 in 2004" from Coors Brewing before resigning in April, 2005.[6]
[edit] Drunk Driving Arrest
According to the Denver Post, on May 28, 2006, Coors was arrested by the state patrol on suspicion of driving under the influence, registering a blood alcohol level higher than the legal limit (0.088), and running a stop sign. Coors commented on the incident, saying, "I made a mistake by driving myself home after a friend's wedding celebration. I should have planned ahead for a ride. For years I've advocated the responsible use of our Company's products. That's still my message, and our Company's message, and it's the right message. I am sorry that I didn't follow it myself."
On August 25, 2006, Coors pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of driving while impaired. A judge sentenced Coors to 24 hours of community service, a suspended fine and ordered him to undergo alcohol education courses.
