New Heights for Highland

Posted on June 29, 2018

When her father launched Highland Brewing more than two decades ago, Leah Wong Ashburn ’92 couldn’t get hired.

“I didn’t know much, and my dad didn’t need me,” Ashburn said. Oscar Wong told her that “it was his dream for me to run the company, but he wanted me to find my own way first. It’s allowed me to step in and lead based on my vision.”

After a career in printing in Charlotte, Ashburn joined Highland’s marketing division in 2011. This year, she was promoted from president to CEO and is leading Asheville’s first legal brewery since Prohibition to new heights.

She’s overseen a remake of Highland’s label, replacing the bagpiper — which led some consumers to assume it was a Scottish import — with a stylized depiction of the grand mountain views that surround its popular taproom.

In February, she became one of 13 female entrepreneurs named to Business North Carolina’s Power 100 list. Two weeks later, she was named a semifinalist in the national Outstanding Wine, Beer or Spirits Professional category of the prestigious James Beard Awards.

Then, in March, Southern Living named Highland the South’s Best Brewery 2018.

When Ashburn came on board at Highland, she worked closely with her father to learn every nuance of the company, its successes as well as failures. She cites failing her first journalism exam at UNC as a formative moment teaching her to pay attention to details.

“I failed a test because I misspelled a name,” she said, recalling the stinging setback. “It’s made me really careful about everything. It helps with selling, with interpersonal relationships. Being prepared makes it possible to be professional and have fun.”

Playfulness definitely factors into Ashburn’s decisions. A consideration of the new Highland logo, which incorporates a stylized compass and North Star, was its ability to serve as a “great tattoo.” Drinking on the job is cause for dismissal at most businesses, but it’s standard operating procedure at Highland. “Drinking Highland beer is PR,” Ashburn states in her company bio. “Drinking other beer is market research.”

While Highland is enjoying a broad refresh, nothing inside the bottle has changed — a comfort for those who have been enjoying signature brews like Gaelic Ale, dubbed “Asheville’s First Beer,” since the brewery’s earliest days. The new branding to clear up any customer confusion was also in line with the company’s core values.

“Transparency is such a critically important piece in the world today,” Ashburn said. “We wanted people to know exactly what they are drinking and what we stand for.”

Those values also include equal opportunity. Ashburn — whose husband, Brock, is vice president of operations — takes pride in having a nearly equal representation of male and female staff in an industry long dominated by men and developing their talents.

“I think about how much my dad inspired me, and how much professors … at Carolina inspired creativity and critical thought,” Ashburn said. “I’m happy I can do that for someone else while making great beer.”

— Jill Warren Lucas

---