Peter Hanson Coors (born September 20, 1946) is an American businessman and politician. He formerly served as the chairman of theMolson Coors Brewing Company and chairman ofMillerCoors.[1]
Coors was theRepublican Party nominee in the2004 United States Senate election in Colorado.
Coors was born inGolden, Colorado. He is the great-grandson ofAdolph Coors, thebrewing entrepreneur, and the son ofHolly Coors (born Edith Holland Hanson)[2] andJoseph Coors. He graduated fromPhillips Exeter Academy and then fromCornell University from which he received a degree inengineering. A member of thePsi Upsilon fraternity, Coors was elected to theSphinx Head Society during his final year at Cornell. He also received hisMBA from theUniversity of Denver in 1970.
Coors has worked all of his life in various positions at his family's firm, theCoors Brewing Company.
In 1993, Coors became vice chairman andCEO of the company, and in 2002, he was named chairman of Coors Brewing Company andAdolph Coors Company. In 2004, according to theRocky Mountain News, 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".[3] He stepped down temporarily from these positions in 2004 to run for the US Senate. After the 2005 merger withMolson, Coors became a Class A Director in the newly formed Molson Coors Brewing Company.[4]
On May 7, 2018, Coors wrote an open letter criticizing the hostility toward "Big Beer," i.e., large brewing companies, at a Craft Brewers Conference sponsored by the Brewers Association. "The leadership of the Brewers Association does a great disservice to the entire beer value chain by attempting to pit one part of the industry against another," he charged.[5]
In a May 14, 2018 opinion piece for theWall Street Journal, Coors urgedPresident Trump, whom he respects, to put an end to the Midwest Premium, a "mysterious fee" added to aluminum orders in the U.S. "It is time to fix this mess and end the premium once and for all," he wrote. "A private solution would be best — one crafted by producers, buyers, market makers and customers like Molson Coors. Let us forge a new deal on aluminum, to the benefit of a hundred million fans of the most American of beverages. President Trump, are you with us?"[6]
At the end of 2019, Coors retired from his role as the company's chief customer relations officer. He remains a company ambassador.[7]
In October 2006, he was appointed by theUniversity of Colorado Hospital board of directors as chairman of the board for the new University of Colorado Hospital Foundation.
He has served on the boards ofU.S. Bancorp,H. J. Heinz Company,HOBY (Hugh O'Brian Youth Leadership) Colorado, and Energy Corp. of America. He is also involved in civic organizations such as the Denver Area Council of theBoy Scouts of America and theNational Western Stock Show Association. He is also part of theownership group of theColorado Rockies.[8] He is a member of theAugusta National Golf Club inAugusta, Georgia.[9] In 1997, Coors was granted an honorary doctorate fromJohnson & Wales University, where he is a trustee. He sits on the board of trustees of theAmerican Enterprise Institute.[10]
When U.S. SenatorBen Nighthorse Campbell declared in 2004 that he was retiring, Coors announced his candidacy. His opponent in the Republicanprimary election was anotherconservative, former congressmanBob Schaffer. During their primary, the two candidates engaged in an ideological disagreement, with Schaffer attacking Coors because his company had provided benefits to the partners of itsgay andlesbian employees, in addition to promoting its beer ingay bars. Coors defended himself by saying that he was opposed tosame-sex marriage, and supported aconstitutional amendment to ban it, although he noted that he supportedcivil unions for gay couples. According to theRocky Mountain News, Coors described his company's pro-LGBT practices as "good business, separate from politics."[3] 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 facedDemocrat andColorado Attorney GeneralKen Salazar in theNovember 2004 election, and was defeated by a margin of 51% to 47%.[11]
According to the non-partisanOpenSecrets, Coors gave his own campaign $1,213,657 and received individual donations of $60,550 from other Coors family members. He was mentioned as a possible contender in the 2008 Senate election.[3]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Ken Salazar | 1,081,188 | 51.3 | ||
| Republican | Pete Coors | 980,668 | 47.4 | ||
Coors has been described as "a major donor in Colorado politics." In 2016, Coors donated $5,000 toLeadership Matters for America, a super PAC supporting the presidential candidacy of Donald Trump, and $5,000 toRight to Rise, which supportedJeb Bush.[12]
Coors is married to Marilyn Coors (born Grosso) and has six children.
On May 28, 2006, Coors was arrested by theColorado State Patrol on suspicion ofdriving under the influence and registering ablood alcohol level higher than thelegal limit (0.08).[13] Coors commented on the incident, saying, "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. 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 ofcommunity service and a suspended fine and ordered him to undergo alcohol education courses.
| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Republican Party nominee forUnited States Senator from Colorado (Class 3) 2004 | Succeeded by |