CHICAGO — Former Molson Coors CCO Pete Marino, who left the beverage giant amid corporate restructuring in February, has taken a new senior advisory role with the Pritzker family’s direct investment firm.

“I am joining a great family direct investment firm in Pritzker Private Capital (PPC) to help them deepen their expertise in the beverage world and scale their current beverage investments,” Marino said in a LinkedIn post.  

“If you know me well, you know relationships matter to me. To that end, I was blown away by the support I received in my job search and want to thank everybody who reached out and offered to lend a hand.  There are too many folks to thank here, but they know who they are, and they have my deep appreciation for their friendship and kindness.   
 
“Since selling my agency Dig Communications to a financial investor back in 2010, I have been very interested in the private capital world and I am thrilled about this opportunity with Pritzker Private Capital. They are a great group of people with an impressive track record of success,” he said.

Pritzker Private Capital is run by CEO and co-founder Tony Pritzker, whose father and uncle cofounded Hyatt, making the Pritzkers one of the wealthiest families in the US. Tony Pritzker’s brother, Jay Robert, is the governor of Illinois.

Before leaving Coors, Marino had spent roughly four years as president of emerging growth. He previously spent four years leading Molson Coors' comms and public affairs. His departure coincided with the creation of a new centralized commercial function for the brewer’s Americas business, which is led by CMO Michelle St. Jacques as chief commercial officer.

Marino’s leadership at Molson Coors as well as on the agency side of the business has earned him honors including a 2019 Individual Achievement SABRE Award. He has also featured on PRovoke Media's Influence 100 list of Crossover Stars, which recognizes communications professionals that have moved into broader business roles.

Marino built Dig Communications into one of the most creative midsize firms in the US before selling it to Minneapolis-based ad agency Olson in 2012. After leaving Olson to join client Molson Coors as its VP of communications, he was promoted to chief communications and government affairs officer, launched the acclaimed MCTV platform; supporting CSR and sustainability initiatives; and serving on the company strategy and operating committees.