WILLIAM Grant & Sons, the Scotch whisky giant, has unveiled its new chief executive.
The Balvenie, Glenfiddich and Grant’s distiller has appointed current Heineken Europe boss Soren Hagh to the post.
Mr Hagh takes over responsibility for the role from Glenn Gordon, part of the owning Grant Gordon family, who will remain as a non-executive director on the board. The appointment of Mr Hagh will be effective from January 1.
A spokesperson for Dufftown-based William Grant said: “There is no doubt that Soren will provide strong leadership for the company, as he brings a tremendous wealth of experience to the business from his many years working in the drinks sector and with his substantial commercial and marketing experience building global consumer brands in a number of sectors.”
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In his current role, Mr Hagh is responsible for all of Heineken’s operations in Europe, the Dutch brewing giant’s biggest market. He was previously the brewer’s managing director for Italy, and executive director, global marketing. Prior to joining Heineken, he worked for L’Oreal in both marketing and in-market distribution management roles. Mr Hagh began his career in marketing roles at Lego, latterly as global marketing director.
He has an MBA from INSEAD, as well as a master’s and bachelor’s degree from the University of Aarhus in Denmark.
The appointment of the new chief executive comes shortly after William Grant reported a profit after tax of £331.3m for the year ended December 31, 2022, a rise of 33.8% on the previous year and a return to pre-pandemic levels. Turnover increased by 21.7% to £1.72 billion.
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A spokesperson said: “While global crises, including supply issues and inflation, posed significant challenges in 2022, we are proud that performance is now just ahead of pre-Covid levels, and believe that the business is well positioned for consistent growth in the long term, in partnership with our customers.”
The company sells its spirits, which include Hendrick’s Gin, in more than 200 markets.
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