Greater Glasgow Area
I am Chief Financial Officer at Whyte & Mackay. I joined Whyte & Mackay as I saw it as a business with a very rich heritage which, under new ownership, had a fantastic opportunity to grow in an industry which is both extremely interesting but also hugely important to the economy of Scotland and the UK. The biggest achievement in my career at Whyte & Mackay so far have been building and developing the Finance/IS/Legal function into a real strength of the business. The team is now widely relied upon and is seen as a key enabler to delivering the step change business plan we have in progress. Building a mixed team of existing and new members has been very fulfilling and, as is inevitable, is a continuing key part of my role. Prior to that my greatest achievement was at Tennents where we invested over £20m in my time supporting various on-trade businesses to achieve their growth ambitions. These investments ranged from a few thousand to millions but each one gave the recipient access to the capital they required at a time when traditional debt facilities were is short supply and so really made a difference to their business. Whyte & Mackay was founded on the docks of Glasgow in 1844 by James Whyte and Charles Mackay, who had a mission to create a truly Scottish blended whisky. This partnership laid the foundations for the company’s continued growth over the next century, with the company now producing and distributing some of the most highly-awarded and respected whisky/spirit brands. Whyte & Mackay is a great place to work because it has the size and scale of brands that we can compete globally whilst also being small enough that everyone can really make a difference; it is not a business of huge complexity and layers and so for people who enjoy getting things done it is really fulfilling. Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/whyteandmackay LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/whyte-&-mackay Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/whyteandmackay
At Whyte & Mackay I lead the Finance/IS/Legal function of 46 and sit on the Executive Committee. This role is wide ranging as our business is very diverse; at the same point in time we can be selling a bottle of Whyte & Mackay for £15 in your local supermarket as well as a bottle of Dalmore for £160,000 in an airport in Asia and so this really brings a great richness of challenges and experiences. We have been under the current owners since October 2014 and they are very supportive of our plan and to building for long term success which is very important for a whisky company. Generally, I am responsible for managing and maximising the assets of the business and, collectively with the other members of the Executive, for delivering on the strategic imperatives of the business in a sustainable manner.
AG Barr is a business known for its main brand, Irn-Bru, and its excellent marketing but it also has a large portfolio of other drinks brands (Barr, Strathmore, Rockstar as examples) mainly sold in the UK. As part of the Management Committee I was responsible for Commercial Finance which effectively covered all Marketing investment and all deals and promotions in place with retailers. Given the high volume, heavily discount nature of soft drinks this role required regular contact with the commercial function which was both interesting and challenging in equal measure.
Tennent’s was always perceived as a local brand and the take over by C&C provided the cultural change that was required. They started to invest in advertising and sponsorship with a strong link to the history of the brand. With a lot of good pubs coming on to the market, we were able to provide liquidity to good operators that the banks would not provide. We continued to build networks and take advantage of the market by building relationships with operators with the resource and skill to expand. This gave us immediate volume and prominence in more establishments.
I was briefly Head of Finance: rest of the world for C&C Group before moving in to the Finance Director position for the Tennent’s business in Scotland.
I joined Damovo as their head of treasury and financial planning which was a great move, as in a larger business entity these two elements of finance would never have gone together. I was familiar with the FP&A side from my time in Belgium, and the reporting and KPI side was well within in my skill set. The treasury aspect however was new to me and allowed me to gain exposure to FX, hedging, etc. S&N had always been a cash rich company but Damovo was effectively owned by the bondholders and so cash was under constant focus. It also gave me exposure to a re-financing exercise which was a great learning experience. The move to a smaller company allowed me to get a range of exposure that larger companies would have been too big to provide.