6 CHIP BREWER

President and CEO of Topgolf Callaway Brands Corp.

Back in August, a press release dropped about one of golf’s most famous brands changing its name. It didn’t elicit many headlines for golfers; but it was very big news for the stock market.

Callaway – the golf equipment company founded with a driver – was changing its name to Topgolf Callaway Brands Corp. The company’s ticker symbol on the New York Stock Exchange even changed from ELY to MODG to “reflect the company’s leadership position in the Modern Golf ecosystem.”

It meant the golf equipment company founded by Ely Callaway in 1992 was now an entertainment company. And a tech company. And a clothing company. And a lifestyle brand. The man who’s led this transformation is Chip Brewer; a Texan who used to head up Adams before taking over at Callaway in 2012.

Under his watch, Callaway’s core club and ball business has gone from strength to strength. Between April and June 2022, they made $452m in revenue, up 13 percent year-onyear. Its ‘active lifestyle’ segment – made up of Travismathew, OGIO, Jack Wolfskin, Callaway Apparel and accessory brands – also increased 40 percent to record sales of $260m, while Topgolf’s revenue shot up by 24 percent to $404 million in the same period.

“Our business has been really good for the last several years,” says Brewer. “We were a turnaround in 2012, we grew the business and have shown we’re pretty good operators.

“We have a strong brand position. We believe we are No.1 in the club market and the golf ball business has been growing to double-digits. The use of AI will set the stage for further changes and innovations as we apply it to different parts of our product range. AI is like CAD (computer assisted design): it’s a fundamental way of designing a product.

If you don’t do that going forwards, you’re not going to be in the game.”