Thanks to Uncle Joe and Brother Mike's

Joseph Lehane ’79 was inspired to go to Stonehill by his Uncle Joe, a Holy Cross missionary priest. “He would come home from Bangladesh with all these stories. Having him in my life was just amazing,” he says. 

At Stonehill, Lehane joined the board of directors at Brother Mike’s in his freshman year. By the time he was a senior, he was executive director there. “Brother Mike’s was where everything happened. It was a lot of responsibility, and it was a lot of fun. It was a big part of my experience at Stonehill, and I worked really hard at it,” he says. 

That background helped launch Lehane’s lifelong career in the beverage industry. After graduating with a marketing degree, he started working for Diageo (then Seagram’s) on St. Patrick’s Day in 1980. “That was a cool job, and over time I was in a very senior role. I managed the second-largest wholesaler for the largest spirits manufacturer in the United States,” he says. 

Lehane worked there until 2019, when he started consulting as an executive mentor for a beverage distributor. He’s also an owner and chairman of YaVe, a start-up tequila company. “It’s been nice to stay in the business. I’m involved and challenged, but I don’t have to travel anymore. It’s been a great segue to round out my career,” he says. 

Lehane gives Stonehill credit for his success. To give back, he started the Reverend Joseph S. Lehane, C.S.C. Scholarship in his uncle’s name. He’s also on the committee for the Brother Mike’s Leadership Scholarship and the Timothy J. Coughlin Memorial Scholarship. Reflecting on his career, he notes, “Without my uncle and Brother Mike’s, none of this would have happened.”