Jacobs to leave trade center post

Anka Jacobs will be stepping down from her post as international training manager for the International Trade Resource Center at the Pease Tradeport on July 31.

Beginning in September, Jacobs will be heading up Smuttynose Brewing Co.’s efforts to increase the brand’s presence in supermarkets and chain stores as it transitions from a microbrewery to a regional brewer, making over 15,000 barrels of beer a year.

Jacobs obtained her degree in hospitality management in her native country of the Netherlands. “Understanding beer and wine was a large part of that education,” she said.

She said she has worked in restaurants throughout the years and is even certified as a sommelier. Alfred Heineken, longtime chairman of the famous Dutch brewing company, who died in 2002, even taught Jacobs how to pour a brew like an expert.

“When I first came to New Hampshire, it was only supposed to be for a year,” reflected Jacobs. “I just fell in love with New Hampshire and I’m looking forward to starting the next chapter of my life,” she told NHBR Daily.

To learn more about Jacobs and her role at the ITRC, read New Hampshire Business Review’s 2004 interview with her. — — CINDY KIBBE