Peter Kiley '04 - In the Business of Doing Good

When Peter Kiley '04 talks about business, he often returns to a concept he and his colleagues discuss at Monday Night Brewing. Most business leaders are familiar with ROI, or return on investment. Mr. Kiley talks about something different.

"We talk about ROG," he says. "Return on good."

This simple philosophy, that the purpose of doing business goes beyond profit, has guided much of Mr. Kiley's life and career. Over the past two decades, Mr. Kiley has built an impressive résumé as a brewmaster, winemaker, distiller, entrepreneur and philanthropist. His current slew of titles includes business owner, brewmaster, entrepreneur, nonprofit cofounder, husband and father. Central to Mr. Kiley's career are his roles as brewmaster, chief product officer and co-owner of Monday Night Brewing, one of the most celebrated craft breweries in the Southeast with locations in Atlanta and Birmingham.

Alongside his wife, Rachel, Mr. Kiley has launched additional beverage ventures, including Sneaky Spirits, Pedro Furtivo Tequila and Yacht Water. The two met on his first day at Monday Night Brewing and have spent more than a decade building businesses together.

"Rachel and I have worked together since 2013," he says. "We've just done everything together. She's the scaffolding in which we're able to build so many great things. She's the business brains, and she's also a creative. Frankly, I feel like all of my success is deeply rooted in the idea that I'm married to her."

He is also the co-founder of The 404 Fund, an Atlanta-based nonprofit that has directed nearly $1 million toward causes throughout the city. In recognition of those accomplishments – and the values behind them – HIES named Mr. Kiley the 2026 Distinguished Alumni Award recipient. 

After graduating from HIES in 2004, Mr. Kiley studied chemistry at the University of Georgia before pursuing a career in winemaking. His work took him to Napa, Sonoma and Anderson Valley before eventually returning him to Georgia, where he worked at Chateau Elan and later as a sommelier.

"I loved learning about wine. I loved learning about its history. I loved engaging with people, but I always, in my heart of hearts, knew I was a creator."

That realization ultimately led him to Monday Night Brewing. In 2012, he attended an engagement party for HIES classmate Patrick Butkus '04 at a soon-to-open brewery, where he met Joel Iverson, now his longtime business partner and the company's CEO. What began as a conversation soon became an opportunity.

"I was introduced to Monday Night Brewing solely because of Patrick Butkus and, ergo, because of Holy Innocents'," he says. "There are so many instances in my life story where I can exactly pinpoint where it all started. More frequently than not, it always comes back to Holy Innocents'."

When Mr. Kiley joined Monday Night Brewing in 2013, the company was still in its infancy. More than a decade later, it has grown into one of Atlanta's defining brands, employing hundreds of people and serving customers across multiple locations. For Mr. Kiley, their success isn’t measured solely by sales, growth or awards.

"There's an immense amount of care and consideration that goes into building community and leading with trust," he says. "I see so many business operators where there are no favors. I feel like we've probably gained so much over time by giving so much away."

That approach has helped make Monday Night Brewing more than a brewery for many Atlantans. Its spaces have hosted engagements, weddings, celebrations and milestones of every kind – including many HIES class reunions. Mr. Kiley and his wife even married at the brewery's original location.

"It's really cool getting to be a part of people's lives in such an intimate way," he says. "Think of all the places people could celebrate. They choose to do it around us."

That spirit of generosity extends beyond the brewery walls. As Monday Night Brewing grew, so did Mr. Kiley's desire to address challenges he saw throughout Atlanta. Frustrated by the limitations of traditional philanthropy, he set out to create what he describes as "a fund that moved at the speed of care."

That conviction led to the creation of The 404 Fund, which he co-founded with Atlanta marketer Brandon Butler. Rather than focusing on a single issue, the organization supports trusted leaders already making a difference across Atlanta in areas ranging from youth development and mental health to housing, food insecurity and workforce opportunities.

"The idea of The 404 Fund is that we are a group of mobilizers," Mr. Kiley says. "We try to highlight the organizers, the people that are actually doing the work. We try to highlight their stories, fund them and really just bring attention and support to them."

One of the fund's earliest initiatives was 404 Atlanta Lager, a beer produced by Monday Night Brewing that directs 4.04 percent of sales back to the organization.

"We wanted to create a reason other than just drinking," Mr. Kiley says. "What if you could have a pint for a purpose?"

The fund has since grown rapidly, approaching the million-dollar mark in giving. For Mr. Kiley, it is perhaps the purest expression of the philosophy that has guided his career: creating something meaningful and leaving the community stronger than he found it.

Only later did he come to realize how much that perspective had been shaped at HIES. In his acceptance speech for the Distinguished Alumni Award, Mr. Kiley reflected on arriving as a seventh-grade student shortly after being diagnosed with dyslexia and ADHD while also struggling with what he described as a "world-class stutter." Unsure whether he belonged, he instead found a community that refused to let him define himself by his challenges.

He specifically credits longtime educator Niki Simpson with helping him see possibilities in himself that he could not yet recognize. Whenever he apologized for stuttering, she responded with a phrase he still remembers decades later: "Don't be sorry—be correct."

"She saw something in me that I couldn't yet see in myself," he said. "She would not let me off the hook until I saw it too. She never let me forget my entire time here that I was worth it."

The relationships he built at HIES proved just as formative. Many of his closest friendships began on campus and remain central to his life today, including his friendship with Patrick Williamson '04, who introduced him at the 2026 State of the School luncheon.

"Holy Innocents' didn't just give me an education," he said. "It gave me my people. The principles I learned here, about showing up for each other, about building something bigger than yourself, are the very same principles that led me to help build Monday Night Brewing, Sneaky Spirits and The 404 Fund."

Those lessons continue to shape his relationship with the school. Through supporting alumni events and his work with current students through the PEAK Leadership Institute, he remains committed to helping students discover possibilities for themselves.

"I hope that one day I get to help some kid like me," he says. "Hopefully, I get to give something to someone that helps them get to the places they don't even know they want to go yet."

For someone who has spent his life building businesses, products and organizations, that aspiration may be the clearest measure of return on good.

-Caroline Nichols