Cleary had intended to move to Reedsburg, Wisconsin, to begin a law practice, but he and his wife, the daughter of a top executive at the G. Heileman Brewery in La Crosse, returned to their home town and he began working in real estate law.

[3] At that point he was in charge of labor relations; acquisitions; integration of acquired firms; supervision of legal matters; divisional advertising; and company-owned real estate.

[7] Cleary used such momentum to make even more acquisitions, seeking to turn his vision of Heileman's being the only brewery in America large enough to take on Anheuser-Busch and Miller for primacy in the American brewing industry into reality.

[8] In particular, Cleary continued the company's campaign of acquiring failing breweries, making several significant deals.

There was a deal in 1979 to acquire the Carling brands and several plants (Frankenmuth, Michigan; Baltimore, Maryland; Belleville, Illinois; Phoenix, Arizona, among others, which Heileman quickly sold or liquidated).

"[11] Due to his commitment to the company and the La Crosse community, over the years, Cleary received many awards.

[12] Among those from the La Crosse area and the numerous financial and business magazines were: One of the stipulations of the Bond Corporation acquisition was that Cleary stay on as head of the company through a transition to new ownership.

When Alan Bond went bankrupt and was forced to sell Heileman to Hicks, Muse, Tate, and Furst in 1994 Cleary came out of retirement to guide the transaction.