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Leadership Lessons from Bundaberg’s John McLean

March 9, 2026

I’m real­ly excit­ed to share a new case study with you fea­tur­ing one of the com­pa­nies we’ve had the priv­i­lege of work­ing with, Bund­aberg Brewed Drinks from the great city of Bund­aberg, Australia.

You may know them for their spec­tac­u­lar Bund­aberg Gin­ger Beer which in my opin­ion, is the best gin­ger beer in the world.

What’s real­ly amaz­ing about this busi­ness is that it’s a fam­i­ly com­pa­ny that’s built a glob­al brand, now dis­trib­uted in more than 60 countries.

For this case study, I had the chance to sit down with John McLean, the CEO, who’s part of the fam­i­ly behind the busi­ness. We had a fan­tas­tic con­ver­sa­tion about the jour­ney of Bund­aberg — where the com­pa­ny has come from and how they con­tin­ue to grow.

John shares some real­ly inter­est­ing insights along the way. For exam­ple, at one point they made the bold deci­sion to shut down about 20% of their rev­enue to posi­tion the busi­ness for bet­ter long-term growth.

John is just an amaz­ing guy. I’m thrilled to know him and grate­ful for the oppor­tu­ni­ty to work with him and some of his team.

Over the next few weeks we’ll be shar­ing more insights from the case study, inter­view clips and arti­cles high­light­ing the lessons from John’s lead­er­ship jour­ney as he con­tin­ues to learn and grow.

I hope you enjoy it. 

You can read more about the case study here.
Watch the full inter­view here:
Down­load the Case Study

About Lawrence & Co.
Lawrence & Co. is a growth strategy and leadership advisory firm that helps mid-market companies achieve lasting, reliable growth. Our Growth Management System turns 30 years of experience into practical steps that drive clarity, alignment, and performance—so leaders can grow faster, with less friction, and greater confidence.

About Kevin Lawrence
Kevin Lawrence has spent three decades helping companies scale from tens of millions to hundreds of millions in revenue. He works side-by-side with CEOs and leadership teams across North America, the Middle East, Asia, Australia, and Europe, bringing real-world insights from hands-on experience. Kevin is the author of Your Oxygen Mask First, a book of 17 habits to help high-performing leaders grow sustainably while protecting their mental health and resilience. He also contributed to Scaling Up (Rockefeller Habits 2.0). Based in Vancouver, he leads Lawrence & Co, a boutique firm of growth advisors.