Steve Cahillane used to run his own contract brewery in Chic

Steve Cahillane, the new Interbrew UK and Ireland chief executive, might just prove a hard act to precede.

When told Stewart Gilliland bid farewell predicting that Stella Artois could one day rival Guinness's 70% presence in pubs across the land, the new man shot back: "I'm more ambitious than Stewart: I think it'll be 100%!"

He said it with a smile, qualifying his ambitions (it's currently 40%) by adding: "Well, that would be the case if every retail outlet were allowed to put the customer first."

But it was clear the 38-year-old American with his Harvard MBA and strong brand-building Stateside CV is relishing the challenge left him by the man who made such an impact in Britain and has now risen to head Interbrew's Canadian business with a seat on the main board.

For Cahillane, who ran Inter-brew's Labatts USA operation for the past two years (doubling Stella's US sales) after joining as vice-president of sales in 1998, this is a big promotion.

There are, after all, few arenas in the world where Interbrew is number three, and the two percentage points of market share that Coors has on Interbrew UK (18 to its 16) will be fought over all the more eagerly as Cahil-lane is himself a Coors old boy.

S&N, of course, bestrides the market with its 28%, but the opportunities opened up to Stella and other Interbrew beers by the change of ownership of its pubs will also excite him.

One of the reasons Interbrew brought him across the Atlantic is that Cahillane brings a fresh set of eyes to the new task.

His personal experience of the British scene is limited to three months here in 1992 on assignment with the E&J Gallo Winery, plus regular holiday visits to see relations of his mother in London and Northampton.

That said, he's known

Gilliland well over the past few years, seen the figures regularly and enjoyed a three-week handover ­ and says there are more similarities than differences in comparing what he did in America with what he's doing here.

"Both are quality brand businesses in very competitive markets," he explains.

Though the markets bear few similarities ­ much bigger on-trade here compared to the USA, much more consolidated off-trade here, much more complex route to market here ­ he doesn't see Britain's as any more difficult, just different.

Three main impressions have struck him since arriving: the first two emphasise the challenge ahead, the other is more confidence boosting.

Says Cahillane, a trifle wistfully: "To Americans, beer and Britain go together naturally.

Britain is seen as the cradle of beer, and the pub is seen as part of that historic culture.

So it is a little counter-intuitive to see the on-trade business in decline and other areas growing."

Similarly challenging is the off-trade discounting.

"It's a shame more retailers aren't making more money" he remarks laconically.

The more heartening impression is the state of the company he's taken over.

"Our business has been through quite a lot in the past year or so but morale is high, the team has done an outstandingly good job with Castlemaine XXXX and we're in good shape."

How good, he can't put figures to, as Interbrew's third-quarter results are imminent.

Nor can he comment on whether Interbrew has caught up after the disappointing first-quarter for the on-trade that Gilliland revealed earlier this year.

"All I can say is this is a tough business, with some extraordinary deflationary pressures ­ but that's something facing all businesses in Britain today."

Cahillane is understandably reticent about broadcasting his plans this early.

No specific review of strategy is underway, though he says there may be opportunities to grow some brands faster, particularly Bass and speciality beers like Hoegaarden and Leffe.

Like Gilliland, he's out to Make Beer Great, and he too wants to talk "quality" rather than "pricing" with his customers.

"Growth ought to be higher on the agenda than price," he says.

For that to happen, he adds, "the on-trade experience has to be exceptional."

Like any well-mannered visitor to the Old Country - and he is indeed very pleasant company - Cahillane will not be drawn down the well-trodden Gilliland path of retailer bashing.

"I'll form my own views on the quality issues.

I respect Stewart's views, and he is a very credible figure.

But I have to say, I've not been let down yet."

Clearly, though, he already knows the score on pub quality of dispense and is happy to stick with Interbrew's £500,000 commitment to Cask Marque.

"It leapt off the sheet straight away as soon as I got here ­ it's a gigantic thing ­ but it's absolutely the right thing to do."

He also shares his predecessor's views on rewarding quality and excellence in trade.

"We shouldn't need to as it makes commercial sense for retailers to do that well.

But, yes, we're looking at acknowledging exceptional retailer performance."

As well as what he describes as a "natural affinity for beer", Cahillane brings his experience of running his own contract brewery in Chicago in the mid-1990s ­ which was how he got into beer in the first place.

The American micro brewing boom was in full swing, and Cahillane struck out from Gallo with big plans.

His Chicago State Street Brewery produced two ales and two lagers and was expanding nicely in partnership with a big wholesaler until, as he puts it, "the bloom fell off the rose of micros".

He decided to sell it on to a larger brewer before moving to a stint at Coors Distributing Company, where he shifted a million cases to Interbrew.

Cahillane has yet to meet his biggest customers, but he's already picking up on his British Beer & Pub Association duties.

There, the issue of binge drinking and possible Government clampdowns on advertising will loom large.

"We have binge drinking in America, too, but the press coverage here is alarming ­ whether that's because there's substance to it or it's just alarmist media coverage, I don't yet know.

"What I do know, though, is that self regulation is better than imposed regulation ­ and that should cause drinks producers who are pushing the envelope to pause and reflect on what they're doing."

So far, things have been going rather well for the new man.

His family are settled in Beaconsfield, and his fourth child arrived just a fortnight ago.

It was also perhaps a good omen that in his first weekend here, he was driving his family through the Cotswolds and had lunch in a pub that caught their eye, which served a perfect pint of Labatts, and an equally excellent draught Bass.

How many pubs he could have found like that, who knows.

But certainly nowhere near as many as we'll all be finding over the next few years if he has his way and makes the mark he wants to.