If the young woman he'd just married hadn't accepted a teach

Twenty-eight years on, we certainly wouldn't be celebrating his talents as Coors' first chief operating officer in the UK. "It was all a lot easier then," he recalls. "I actually had a number of job offers, with companies like Spillers and Courtaulds, but I decided I didn't want to be miles away from my wife and joined Welsh Brewers instead as a marketing assistant. And the fact that she was also likely to be earning a lot more than me helped in the decision!" Fresh out of university in the Welsh capital with an economics degree, he soon wed the girlfriend of his college days. In almost three decades since then, he's effectively had only one employer despite "moving house more times than I care to remember". Since he was selected for the post at the Bass subsidiary, Swinburn, now 48, has picked his way through the minefield of a slowly-declining beer market and a brewing industry that's been turned upside down and inside out. By the time the Bass empire was being dismantled at the end of 2000 he'd risen to become on-trade sales director, but was understandably nervous about what lay in store when, a year after that, the third biggest brewer in the United States came riding over the range. "I didn't know what to expect," he says. "We'd bumped into the Coors people a few times over here, with Scottish & Newcastle having taken on Coors Gold in the 1990s. But we really didn't know that much about them." He goes on: "Given the feverish speculation about who might or might not buy us, the fact that we were going to another brewer, and not to venture capitalists or hoteliers, had to be good news." But, Bass lifer that he was, you'd imagine he was hurt when the company announced it was leaving its heart and soul behind by selling the brewing business. "Strangely enough, I wasn't really. We were grown-ups and anyway I was beginning to think we didn't fit any more. It's almost like when your children reach 18 or 19, they seem to get too big for the house. And they, of course, had a vision of the future that clearlydidn't include us." "They" were the Prossers and the Clarkes of this world inhabiting the dizzy heights of Bass PLC, but there is a surprising lack of bitterness towards them. Nevertheless, he doesn't hide his sense of relief that the Americans signed on the dotted line and took the beer division out of its corporate misery. "For all of us, it was a relief from the nightmare of two or three years of uncertainty that had preceded it," he admits. Swinburn, a pleasant man with a ready smile, was born in a tinyvillage just outside Aberdare and retains a little of the Welsh lilt in his voice. Nowadays, though, he's becoming a major player on the international brewing stage. He impressed the Americans with his wide experience and vast knowledge and was appointed to run the show under the strategic guidance of chief executive Peter Kendall. "There was never anything wrong with the business," he says. "Coors inherited great brands and we're still growing them." His single-mindedness, too, must have stood out. "I'm quite clear that my role is to deliver the bottom line," he explains. "I'm absolutely focused on that." And how is his relationship with his paymasters back in Golden, Colorado ­ home of the biggest brewing complex in the world? "There are no directives from America," he insists. "We have added 60% to their bottom line at a time when they needed it." Yet there is to be no headlong rush to expansion on a heroic scale ­ at least for another two years. "We need to draw our breath for a bit before we even think about acquisitions and things like that," says Swinburn. "There will be new product development, yes, but just as importantly we'll be innovative in the way we do business." That sounds intriguing­ but he's canny enough not to go into too many details. "The innovation comes in getting to a point the opposition hasn't even thought of," he goes on. A little delphic, perhaps, but the clue might come in the fact that he simply doesn't accept that the UK is a tired old market. "Look at Carling. It's only been around since the 1950s and compared to some grocery brands it's a youngster," says Swinburn. Add Britain's top-selling beer to the formidable trio of Worthing-ton, Grolsch and PPS brand, Reef, and you've got 80% of the company's UK business. Their logos even appear on his business card. At number two behind only S&N, Coors is well placed when expansion finally gets the green light from across the Atlantic ­ and always assuming the competition authorities here play ball. But Swinburn has always been good at spotting a danger, and sees the revitalised Heineken, complete with 100-strong UK office staff, peering over the horizon. "They are very good people, players in all the major markets throughout the world," he states. "They're up there with the very, very best." No chance of underestimating the Dutch masters, then, and back at the ranch he believes morale to be "incredibly high" ­ but admits he can't be sure. "We've just undertaken an employee survey so we'll know soon. But the vibes I'm getting are good." It won't all be plain sailing, though. Gearing, currently at 66%, is evidently too frightening for this fiercely-independent and almost obsessively-protective family firm. The financial plan requires it to come down to 40% as soon as possible. But overall, Swinburn professes himself "delighted" by what he's seen so far. "Their core values are word-for-word the same as ours," he says. And the odd board meeting in Colorado makes a change from Burton-on-Trent. If that represents a perk of the job, he's giving little away. "It's a long flight," he chuckles. Peter Swinburn factfile WHEELS: Jaguar HOME: Highclere, Berkshire FAMILY: Wife and two grown-up children; daughter a radio journalist, son a budding actor training at the Old Vic EDUCATION: Cardiff University, economics degree FAVOURITE DRINK: Worthington's 1744 FAVOURITE FOOD: Fresh pasta and pesto sauce HOBBIES: Fishing and rugby (watching nowadays!) BEST-EVER HOLIDAY: Australia, especially Sydney