Dodds Hayden

Owner & Chairman Hayden Beverage Company

Last Reviewed: September 26, 2026

Executive Summary

Dodds Hayden is Owner and Chairman of Hayden Beverage Company, the Boise-based distributor of beer, cider, wine, spirits and non-alcoholic drinks that Idaho Press describes as the largest beverage distributor in Idaho. He grew up in the business his father, John Hayden, built from 1970. He graduated from Bowdoin College, served five years as a Marine Corps infantry officer, and returned to Idaho to run the company’s Sun Valley operation. He co-owned and co-led the company with his father from 1997, and bought all the shares after his father died in 2006. The company is now run day to day by CEO Andy Mitchell. In June 2026 Hayden announced a strategic partnership with the Pacific Northwest distributor Columbia Distributing, under which Columbia is to take a minority stake.

Career Highlights

• Owner and Chairman of Hayden Beverage Company, which operates through Boise Sales Co. and RNDC of Idaho.
• Took over as president after his father’s death in 2006 and bought all the company’s shares.
• In 2008 separated the wine business into its own company in partnership with Republic National Distributing Company, where he is president and a minority shareholder. The company says the move gave it statewide coverage of Idaho and later took it into Montana.
• Announced a letter of intent in June 2026 for Columbia Distributing to take a minority stake in Hayden, with Hayden’s owners taking an indirect interest in Columbia and Hayden remaining independent under its existing leadership.
• Named to the Idaho Business Review’s Idaho 500 in the Beverage & Winemakers category in 2025.
• Served five years as a U.S. Marine Corps infantry officer. He is a Certified Specialist of Wine through the Society of Wine Educators.

Professional Journey

Hayden was born in Idaho and grew up in the family business. The Idaho Business Review says he started working for his father at 15 and would talk the business over with him after his shifts. The company traces its roots to a distributorship formed after Idaho repealed prohibition. In 1970 John Hayden took charge of a recently acquired Olympia beer distributorship, Boise Sales Co. He bought it in 1976 and renamed it Hayden Beverage Company.

After Boise High School, Hayden graduated from Bowdoin College. He then spent five years as an infantry officer in the Marine Corps and later attended Babson’s business school. He went back to Idaho to run the company’s Sun Valley operation as general manager for eight years. He then moved to Boise to manage the on-premise division, the part of the business that sells to bars and restaurants, and ran the company’s operations alongside his father. The two shared ownership and leadership from 1997.

When John Hayden died in 2006, his son became president and bought all the company’s shares. Two years later he split the wine business into a separate company in partnership with Republic National Distributing Company, one of the largest wine and spirits distributors in the United States. He became its president and a minority shareholder. The company says the arrangement gave it statewide coverage in Idaho and eventually took it into Montana. Hayden Beverage has grown through partnerships and acquisitions, including Young’s Market Company, Alert Distributing, Dawson Taylor Coffee Roasters, Tastevin Wines and S&C Wines and Imports. It runs its accounting, ordering and administration from Boise and has distribution centres in Boise and Post Falls. In October 2025 the Idaho Business Review reported that the business had more than 600 employees across three states.

Hayden is now Owner and Chairman, and Andy Mitchell, who joined in 2014 as Executive Vice-President of Sales, is CEO. In June 2026 the company announced a letter of intent with Columbia Distributing. Under it Columbia would buy a minority stake in Hayden and Hayden’s ownership group would take an indirect interest in Columbia, while Hayden stayed independent and kept control of its own operations. Hayden said the companies had always worked well together and that the deal made “an informal partnership a formal one”. He added that the company’s mission was “to be the best executing distributor in the Northwest, and Columbia has always been our benchmark.”

Education

Bowdoin College

Graduate. No degree or field is stated in the sources.