BrewDog founder James Watt and reality star Georgia Toffolo have announced they are engaged.
Watt said on Instagram that he asked the former Made in Chelsea star to marry him while they were celebrating her 30th birthday on holiday in Greece.
BrewDog’s former CEO said: “She said yes! With an abundance of smiles, happiness, love & family, [Georgia] & I got engaged on Friday in Greece.”
According to Hello! magazine, Watt and Toffolo began dating in 2023 after a mutual acquaintance introduced them.
James Watt and BrewDog
Watt resigned as chief executive in February and became a non-executive director on the BrewDog board and provides strategic advice to the organisation.
That month he posted on LinkedIn: “During my time at the helm of BrewDog, there have been highs and lows, up and downs, crazy successes and incredibly hard challenges.
“When I look back on the last 17 years (119 Dog Years) my overwhelming feeling is one of gratitude.”
So here’s everything we need to know about the brewing company’s founder.
Who is James Watt?
Hailing from Aberdeenshire, Watt studied law and economics at Edinburgh University and even had a stint as a trainee solicitor before deciding to turn his fortunes around.
Within two weeks, he reportedly quit the job he’d been studying for for four years and switched to being a professional fisherman. Gaining his deepsea captain’s licence, Watt spent his early twenties working in the water – and experimenting with a homemade beer in his garage.
Having joined forces with his friend Martin Dickie, the pair decided to venture into the world of beer brewing and, in 2007, BrewDog was born.
Reflecting on how the brand’s name came about, Watt told insider.co.uk: “my Dad had just got a puppy and it was bounding about and it was like dog and dog beer and brew dog came up. It translates well internationally.”
In just 17 years, Watt took BrewDog from a garage-brewing experiment to one of the UK’s most iconic alcohol brewers.
By 2014, he’d been named Great British Entrepreneur of the Year and was considered an expert in all things beer-related. He would later go on to receive an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List.
BrewDog’s influence as an alcoholic powerhouse continued to grow exponentially in the years to follow. By 2019, James was the CEO of a 2,000-strong workforce in 100 bars worldwide.
According to the BrewDog website, Watt is interested in sustainability and has invested in 9,308 acre plot of land in the Scottish Highlands and supports a reforestation project.
As well as being at the helm of BrewDog, Watt’s personal life has also been the topic of headlines in more recent years.
He brought two private prosecution cases against former girlfriend Emili Ziem, accusing his ex of fraud. In one case she was ordered to pay £600,000 in damages. Watt dropped a second case, resulting in her acquittal.
Watt said in a statement that having won the “landmark case” in the highest court in Scotland, he had decided not to pursue the criminal action against Ms Ziem in England.
He then started dating Made In Chelsea’s Georgia Toffolo in 2023. The couple have been pictured on lavish holidays, with the reality star previously saying she hopes he’s “the one”.
He’s now reportedly worth around £262 million.
BrewDog controversies
Watt and his beer company haven’t been short of controversy in recent years.
Some of the earliest incidents included a number of clashes with the Portman Group, which accused BrewDog of being “grossly irresponsible” for naming some of its products, as well as the high alcohol levels in some of its products.
In 2011, BrewDog also took on the country’s strict measure laws by hiring a person with dwarfism to stage the “world’s smallest protest” to push for the approval of two-third pint measures.
In 2015, a video of James and his co-founder dressed up as women resulted in the launch of a petition that alleged they were “mocking trans women, sex workers and homeless people”.
Watt dismissed the allegations, saying at the time: “The video we created was to launch the CrowdCube aspect of Equity for Punks and was made in the spirit of fun and sending ourselves up – it’s a shame that some people have taken offence where none was intended.”
Watt came under fire in 2021 after 100 BrewDog staff signed an open letter that said, “The single biggest shared experience of former staff is a residual feeling of fear.“
The CEO replied: “Our focus now is not on contradicting or contesting the details of the letter, but to listen, learn and act.”
The same year, the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) accused BrewDog of being “misleading” in response to its gold beer can campaign. The BrewDog boss later had to pay out £470,000 to the winners who found the gold cans after it emerged they were gold-plated instead of solid gold.
A year later, the brand had its B Corp status revoked – a certification awarded to companies that show an ethical commitment to the environment and staff.
In 2022, Watt was accused of abusing his power. Allegations were made against Watt by a number of female workers in the US, who alleged that they felt “uncomfortable” and “powerless” when around the CEO. The BBC made a Disclosures programme about the allegations, which Watt has denied.
BrewDog chairman Allan Leighton said he had been given assurances from Watt that the claims were based on misinformation.
Mr Leighton said: “James has committed to making improvements to his management style.”
Most recently, Watt made headlines last January after he decided to stop paying his staff the real living wage.
From April of this year, new staff receive £11.44 per hour, while those in London remained on £11.95 an hour. Both rates are considered below the real living wage but are over the UK’s legal minimum wage.
Watt felt that BrewDog’s pledge to pay employees more than the minimum required by law was no longer within its power. Due to increased manufacturing and energy expenses, the company experienced a loss in 2023. According to the CEO, pay cuts will contribute to financial stability.
