Ian Macleod Distillers has appointed William Ovens as Global Travel Retail (GTR) Director, tasked with driving the company’s ambitious growth strategy in the channel.
Ovens takes over from much-respected industry veteran Andy Lane, Brand Director Travel Retail, who is retiring at the end of the year after a highly successful career in GTR. Lane has spent 12 years at Ian Macleod after stints with Jim Beam Brands and Whyte & Mackay.
Ovens was formerly International Commercial Director at Quintessential Brands. There he set up the company’s GTR business, which quickly became one of its largest and most successful divisions. He also led expansion into over 90 new domestic markets.
From 2001-2010, Ovens led Edrington’s GTR business, managing the company’s powerful portfolio of brands, including The Macallan and The Famous Grouse, in the channel.
“I am delighted to return to the Scotch whisky industry, whilst retaining an involvement in the gin category,” said Ovens. “Ian Macleod Distillers is one of the most dynamic and respected companies within the drinks industry and I’m thrilled to join the business. Our brand portfolio is outstanding and the brands have all enjoyed strong growth in the GTR channel over recent years. We are currently working on a strategy to take them to the next level.”
Ian Macleod Distillers’ GTR-focused core brand portfolio is rooted in single malt and blended Scotch whisky. It includes Glengoyne, Tamdhu and Smokehead single malts and King Robert 11 blended whisky, and is complemented by fast growing super-premium gin brand, Edinburgh Gin.
“We are delighted to welcome William to our business given his excellent track record of driving the growth of premium spirits in GTR,” said Ian Macleod Distillers Managing Director Leonard Russell. “Our brands are in the best possible hands to achieve our ambitious goals in the channel.
“We wish Andy a happy retirement and thank him for his outstanding contribution to our business,” added Russell [Andy Lane was profiled in The Moodie Davitt Report’s popular Ten Easy Pieces column earlier this year].
Ian Macleod Distillers is the world’s tenth-largest Scotch whisky company. It currently sells over 15 million bottles of spirits every year. It remains a family-owned independent company.
