THE body responsible for safeguarding the interests of Scotch whisky around the world has appointed the former British ambassador to Morocco as its first female chief executive.
Karen Betts has joined the Edinburgh-based Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) after a 16-year career in the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO), which included postings in Brussels, Washington and Baghdad.
The one-time solicitor, who studied at the College of Law in Guildford and history at St Andrews University, has become the first woman to lead to the organisation in is 105-year history.
Ms Betts succeeds another former diplomat, David Frost, in the top job at the SWA. Mr Frost, a career diplomat, left the organisation in November to work for Boris Johnson as a special adviser to the UK Foreign Secretary. He had joined the association in 2014 as successor to Gavin Hewitt.
Ms Betts said: “I am thrilled to have been appointed as CEO of the Scotch Whisky Association to represent one of Scotland’s most important industries, at home and overseas.
“It’s an exciting and challenging time for the Scotch whisky industry, and I am looking forward immensely to helping ensure its success into the future. I am also delighted to be moving back to Edinburgh with my family.”
Ms Betts, who served in the Cabinet Office and on the Joint Intelligence Committee, joins at a crucial juncture for the Scotch whisky industry, with uncertainty surrounding its future trading arrangements with the European Union following the Brexit vote.
The association has pressed the UK Government to pursue ambitious trade deals with key growth markets such as India, China and Brazil as the sector prepares for life outside the EU.
Thanks in part to the collapse in sterling since the Brexit vote, the value of whisky exports grew for the first time since 2012 last year. Figures from Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs show that the value of Scotch exports grew by 3.3 per cent to £3.98 billion in 2016.
On the domestic front, Ms Betts the SWA has been busily campaigning the UK Government to cut duty on whisky by two per cent in Tuesday’s Budget.
The SWA said whisky sales had returned to growth in the UK on the back of recent duty cuts. UK sales grew in 2015 for the first time since 2010, before surging by 5.6 per cent to 547.2 million bottles in 2016.
SWA chairman Pierre Pringuet said: “We are delighted that Karen will be joining us and bringing fresh leadership to a talented SWA team as it continues to represent its members’ interests effectively around the world.”
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