Speakers

Marc Crothall is 62 years young- many say they never believe he’s that old when they meet him!

From a very young age he was off on his travels and has lived in 7 countries around world. He started his working life in tourism, leisure, and hospitality industry at the age of 17.

Marc’s first proper job in the industry was a food and beverage kitchen assistant at the Metropole Hotel in Brighton before moving taking up a trainee management opportunity with Gilbeys’ hotels in South Africa in 1981. He has since gone on to hold a variety of front- line senior management and executive positions across different sectors of the tourism, hospitality, and leisure industry in various parts of the globe. Marc came to Glasgow in 1990 where he met his Glaswegian wife, Adele. He has five children 33-17yrs plus a 1yr old grandson Angus all born in Scotland. Despite being a nomad in his early years and not having a “braw” Scottish accent, with his mothers’ ancestral roots tracing back to Roslin in Mid-Lothian he calls Scotland home.

In May 2012 Marc was appointed as the first CEO of The Scottish Tourism Alliance (STA) acknowledged as Scotland’s overarching trade body for the tourism and hospitality sector.                

In November 2022 he was appointed to co-chair the Tourism and Hospitality Industry Leadership Group (THILG) which act as the strategic guardian, think tank Scotland’s national tourism strategy, Scotland Outlook2030. He co-chairs the THILG together Scotland’s Minister for Business Richard Lochhead MSP.

In 2020 Marc was awarded the “Fellowship” by the Scottish Hotel industry for his outstanding contribution to the industry and in June 2022 was awarded an MBE in the Queens Platinum Jubilee Birthday Honours for services to the Tourism Industry in Scotland. More recently in October 2023 he also received the Industry Contribution award.

Marc is a massive rugby fan supporting Glasgow Warriors and Scotland- He’s a big foodie too and loves trying new things – he enjoys a good cut of Angus steak, all types of seafood – but has been known to eat sea grubs, crocodile, and snake too. He loves the great outdoors and going for long walks at the weekend to recharge for the week ahead with his two best pals his wife Adele and his 3year old Cockapoo Loki.

R&B Distillers Limited was incorporated in July 2014. Co-founded by Bill Dobbie, Executive Chairman and Alasdair Day, Master Distiller. Their vision is to become Scotland’s premier independent spirits business.

Alasdair has an Honours degree in Botany from Glasgow University and over 30 years’ experience in the food and drinks industry. Including growing mushrooms, production and technical roles in the fresh produce, dairy and cheese industries.

He can trace his family connections to the whisky industry back to 1820 when J&A Davidson was established. His great grandfather, Richard Day, was the sole proprietor of a Licenced Grocers shop, a Whisky Blender and a Brewery Director in the Scottish Borders town of Coldstream. In 2009 Alasdair, recreated his great grandfather’s blended scotch whisky the Tweeddale, using the original recipe from 1899 in a cellar book that he inherited.

In 2014 Alasdair was privileged to be given a blank sheet of paper to oversee the process design which would create the lightly peated, with dark fruit flavoured spirit now synonymous with the Isle of Raasay Hebridean single malt scotch whisky.

In 2015 Alasdair worked with Bill White and Michael Henry at Loch Lomond Group to create a single malt that would reflect the future style of the whisky that would be distilled on the Isle of Raasay. In November 2015 R&B Distillers launched the first release of their Raasay While We Wait single malt.

Construction of their Isle of Raasay Distillery commenced in June 2016 and the distillery opened in September 2017, with the visitor centre opening its doors in January 2018. Their Isle of Raasay Hebridean Gin was launched in July 2019. The company launched their Inaugural release single malt in November 2020, which had full sold out in advance. R&B Distillers launched their signature Isle of Raasay Hebridean single malt, The Draam, in June 2021 with a 2nd release September 2021 followed by special distillery edition released in October 2021.

The company currently exports their Whisky and Gin to over 51 markets around the world.

In the last 2 years Alasdair has worked with the Raasay team on the first and second release of their multi award winning Dun Cana bottlings. He has pioneered the first very special release of the Isle of Raasay single malt fully matured in Quercus humboldtii / Columbian Andean Oak. Last year the oak policy developed by Alasdair for the Isle of Raasay signature single malt has been released as single cask bottlings at cask strength. Known as the Na Sia five years young release this show cases both the peated and unpeated spirit full matured for five years in ex Rye barrels, Chinkapin oak barrels and ex Bordeaux red wine barriques.

The company is currently designing a second distillery which will be built on their Dhurrie farm in Machrihanish, Campbeltown. Planning approval has been granted and the company hope to break ground by the Spring / Summer of 2026.

Jason is the Co-Owner and Business Development Director at Contagious, bringing over 20 years of experience in building, launching, and transforming drinks brands worldwide. He has worked with leading multinational corporations, including Pernod Ricard, Diageo, LVMH, Bacardi, and Brown-Forman, while also launching new brands and helping emerging ones scale their audiences.

A passionate advocate for education, Jason serves as a faculty member at Moonshine University in Kentucky and a guest lecturer at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, where he shares his expertise in brand strategy, consumer experience, and marketing. He also collaborates closely with key industry organisations, including the Kentucky Distillers’ Association, American Craft Spirits Association, and James B. Beam Institute, and sits on the advisory board of the Scottish North American Business Council.

Simon’s love of good Scotch drew him to the industry 40 years ago, working across Europe with Johnnie Walker and United Distillers. Simon then joined Glenmorangie, where for 15 years, as Commercial Director, he drove global growth and oversaw the resurrection of the Ardbeg distillery as the ultimate Islay malt. Following the sale of the Company to LVMH, Simon worked independently, supporting a number of new-start whisky ventures.

He says that his proudest achievement has been as Managing Director of the Isle of Harris Distillery, establishing the island’s first legal distillery. Its single malt, The Hearach, was launched in 2023 to critical acclaim and is set to take its place amongst Scotland’s finest whisky brands. In 2018 Simon was the IoD’s SME Director of the Year and in 2024 was appointed a Master of the Quaich.

Rosalind is the food and drink editor for The Scotsman and host of multi-award-winning podcast Scran, which celebrates Scotland's vibrant food and drink scene. Formerly a magazine editor working in London and Dubai, she regularly contributes to BBC radio, has featured on TV and in brand videos, has been a keynote speaker at conferences and has hosted live events.

Calum Fraser is the UK ambassador for Hendrick’s Gin. He has 20 years of experience in the hospitality industry, with a career rooted in some of Scotland’s most well regarded venues, including The Balmoral, a majestic Edinburgh icon, and Glasgow’s premier gin bar, The Finnieston.

During his time behind the bar, Calum helped create and curate award-winning menus, bringing his understanding of flavours, passion for cocktails, and knowledge of spirits to the page.

Prior to joining the Hendrick’s team, Calum has spent the past seven years at William Grant and Sons championing Discarded Spirits, where he helped build this pioneering brand from 10 venues across the UK to a spirit that’s now available in 10 nations. 

While he finds the alchemy of mixed drinks fascinating, his true love is engaging with consumers and bartenders and spreading education and knowledge across cocktail culture in the UK. 

Lesley Gracie, who heralds from Hull, Yorkshire, is the master distiller at Hendrick’s Gin. With a background in chemistry, Lesley’s genius lies in her fascination with flavours and how they work together. She visualises flavours as shapes and seeks to create a round, balanced flavour in all of her experimental elixirs. In 1999, Lesley was approached by the great grandson of William Grant, Charles Gordon, to create an ‘ultra-premium’ gin which was to become Hendrick’s.

Over the past two decades, Lesley has been responsible for countless pioneering Hendrick’s releases. Each has its own rich sensory memory and story rooted in playful flavour experimentation and a fascination with botanicals and how they interact with each other. Lesley is fascinated by flowers and is adept at finding inspiration in the natural world to create new exciting liquids; whether that is being inspired by the feeling of a warm midsummer’s day, a calm night under an alluring moon, the magic of the sea, or simply the way precious pollinators are drawn to certain flowers.

Lesley Ann Gray joined Worldpanel by Numerator in 2018 as its Strategic lead for Scotland. With over 30 years’ experience in the Scottish food and drink industry she works across Scotland’s Food and Drink sector, collaborating with companies and brands of all sizes, in addition to retailers, the public sector and academics. She helps them to understand and decode shopper behaviour in order to grow.

Johnston Carmichael is a top 20 business advisory and accountancy firm in the UK, with 1,000 people across 14 UK offices and a particular focus on the food and drink sector.  They work with dozens of distillers and over 500 UK food & drink producers and though this knowledge bring strong sector insight and expertise to help their clients grow profitably. Adam is Johnston Carmichael’s Business Development Partner and Head of Food & Drink, has worked in accountancy firms 25 years, advising business owners on routes to market and strategic growth.  He is extremely well connected across the food and drink industry and regularly makes introductions across his network of other business leaders and investors to help clients grow. In his early career he was commissioned in The Parachute Regiment, sales management roles in blue chip corporates, before setting up and running his own small business.  He chairman of The Scottish Gin Awards and a judge of The Scottish Beer Awards.

An ambitiously practical leader, building a data team to help craft the best ultra-premium spirit brands in the world. 

15+ years' experience leading, delivering, and teaching data science, machine learning, and AI across academia, public, and private companies.

A former mathematician, computer scientist, and university lecturer with academic research published on the impact of AI and digital technology.

Gary Hollins is a Senior Manager in the Consulting practice of EY. He has a wealth of professional experience primarily focused on Intelligent Automation. He is an architect of lasting solutions with an established record of overcoming challenges, rectifying inefficiencies, and positioning organisations for growth.

He has advised clients in a wide range of industries around the globe with teams spanning multiple continents, languages and time zones; he also has lived and worked in the U.S., U.K., Germany and Canada.

After nearly 25 years as a lawyer, in 2015, Caroline James swapped long hours in private practice for her family Scotch Whisky business.

Law is all about words, business is all about numbers. It was a rude awakening for someone who couldn’t even open an Excel spreadsheet.  

Little did she imagine that just ten years later, she would be running a rum distillery too.

With more than 500 casks in maturation, Islay Rum is now well established and looking to its next phase of growth.

But it hasn’t all been plain sailing…...

“The downside is that there’s nowhere to hide in family businesses, if something needs done, you just have to turn your hand to it.

The upside is that there’s no better feeling than going to work every day with the people you love the most, and trying to make them proud of you.”

Mark Kent CMG has been Chief Executive of the Scotch Whisky Association since January 2022. Prior to this Mark spent 34 years in the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (formerly Foreign and Commonwealth Office). He was latterly British Ambassador to the Argentine Republic (2016-2021), Ambassador to the Kingdom of Thailand (2012-2016) and Ambassador to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (2007-2010). He was appointed Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in the 2020 Birthday Honours for services to British foreign policy. Mark holds voluntary positions as Chair of the Vietnam UK network and trustee of Project Trust, an international volunteering charity for young people.

David Lee has hosted more than 500 events - more than 300 in-person and 200+ online. These have included policy conferences on a wide range of subjects, as well as election hustings, awards ceremonies, trade shows, and seminars. He has hosted the seminar stage at In-Drinks Glasgow and chaired the inaugural Scottish Distillers' Conference in autumn 2024. In 2025, he will chair the Distillers event again, as well as a new Whisky Conference.

David has also presented more than 100 podcasts, and has a successful media training business.

He has run his own company since 2009 and was previously a daily newspaper journalist for 20 years, latterly Senior Assistant Editor at The Scotsman.

Away from work, he is an obsessive coastal rower, and an angry footballer of declining ability. He has four grown-up children and two border collies.

Hamish Martin is a renowned herbologist and entrepreneur with over 30 years' experience in the wine and spirits industry. His driving force is Scotland's land and native flora and fauna. 

Hamish's father was in the Scotch whisky industry, and together they created Inverarity Vaults, a whisky bottler and wine merchants. Hamish then retrained as a herbologist at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh and travelled to learn about plant medicines in North America. He and his wife, Liberty, then created the Secret Herb Garden on the outskirts of Edinburgh (a herb nursery, cafe and wedding venue) as well as a gin distillery called Secret Garden Gin. 

He now runs a business called Call of the Wild, where he delivers nature reconnection experiences and dining. 

Phil is the Client service director for UK and Ireland at CGA working with an array of drinks supplier business, wholesalers and licensees to understand the opportunities and challenges that exist in the on trade. Phil has worked extensively in multiple markets in his career, advising on NPD strategy and sales optimization for the global alcohol supply businesses

With good humour and over twenty years in the drinks industry and a number of roles from large scale production with Bombay Sapphire, Commercialisation of innovative techniques for the likes of Bacardi Product Development with Oxley Gin, customer facing on trade, as well as having the honour of leading distilling education at Heriot Watt Universities prestigious ICBD. Matthew has been quietly amassing knowledge which he has been passing onto the next generation of distillers since 2015 in engaging style.

Matthew is completing a PhD in the sensory science of spirit drinks in association with the Gin Guild part of the Worshipful Company of Distillers, the Scotch Whisky Research Institute and the Scottish Section of the Institute of Brewing and Distilling. Matthew also works internationally as a consultant to industry through his company Distiller's Nose with products that have garnered awards on both sides of the Atlantic.  

Karen Somerville, formerly owner of award-winning glass manufacturers Angels’ Share Glass, co-owner of Fife Whisky Festival and now Business Consultant for whisky and Scottish businesses. A Champion for Women in business and passionate about Whisky

Ian spent a decade in the wine trade in London before returning home to Edinburgh in 2016 to establish a whisky distillery in Scotland's capital city, with his business partner and lifelong friend Paddy Fletcher. As two founders with no experience of either running a distillery, or indeed building one, they have been on a unique journey to raise millions of pounds from hundreds of investors around the world, create a global gin brand, research unchartered territories in whisky production, and construct the world's tallest distillery on a small patch of land in Leith. The Port of Leith Distillery finally opened to visitors in October 2023. 

Rachel is a Flavour Chemist by background, with a Master’s Degree in Chemistry from Heriot Watt University and a Post-graduate Degree in Sensory Science from Nottingham University. She worked for Nottingham University as a Flavour Specialist prior to joining the craft distilling industry at Warner’s Distillery, Northamptonshire as their Liquid & Innovation Manager from 2021 – 2024. She has recently joined Diageo at their International Technical Centre, Scotland working as a Liquid & Raw Materials Subject Matter Expert. Rachel also regularly judges for a variety of beverage competitions, including the International Wine & Spirits Competition (IWSC) and was recognised by the IWSC as an Emerging Talent within the Spirits Industry in 2021

TRKR, part of the NIQ Partner network, supports FMCG suppliers across all categories, with a specific focus on Category Management and New Product Development. Clients ranging from Peperami and McBride, to BrewDog and Albert Bartlett.
Mark is co-founder & Insight Director at TRKR, leading Category Management and Bespoke Insight projects for clients. Mark not only supports clients with accessing EPOS and Panel data from NIQ and Kantar, he also then creates compelling retail trade arguments and often presents to retail buyers alongside TRKR clients as their outsourced insight expert.
Mark has helped several brands achieve national listings with Tesco and Sainsbury’s in particular, as well as winning private label tenders with M&S.

Prior to TRKR, Mark spent 15 years at Kantar Worldpanel as Business Unit Director where he headed up the Ireland and Scotland business units, responsible for a combined turnover of £6m.

Billy Walker is a renowned figure in the Scotch whisky industry, celebrated for his transformative influence on several distilleries and his unwavering commitment to quality over a career spanning more than five decades.

Early Life and Career Beginnings

Graduating from the University of Glasgow in 1967 with a BSc Honours Degree in Chemistry, a youthful Billy Walker had the perfect foundations to build an intimate knowledge of the science behind whisky making and flavour development.

Billy’s whisky journey began in 1972 at Hiram Walker & Sons – the company behind Ballantine’s at the time – where his role covered almost all aspects of production. After four years, he moved on to Inver House Distillers, taking up the position of Master Blender in 1976.

Fast-forward to 1982, Billy joined Burn Stewart Distillers where he went on to spend two decades, most notably playing a key part in the resurrection of Deanston and Tobermory Distilleries.

Reviving Distilleries and Establishing a Legacy

The next twelve years saw him acquire BenRiach, GlenDronach and Glenglassaugh Distilleries, each of which were either mothballed, closed or under exposed to the market. His innovative use of Sherry casks during this period played a pivotal role in popularising this maturation style within the industry. It was at this point in his career where Billy truly made a name for himself, leading the brands’ rejuvenation and subsequent phenomenal success.

The GlenAllachie Distillery

Billy’s next move was to his current position as owner and Master Distiller at The GlenAllachie Distillers Company, encompassing The GlenAllachie single malt, White Heather blended Scotch, MacNair’s Boutique House of Spirits, and most recently, Meikle Tòir peated single malt. The latter marks a significant milestone, representing Billy’s first core release fully overseen by him since acquiring the distillery in 2017.

Under his stewardship, the company has achieved widespread acclaim. Among its many accolades, the GlenAllachie 12-year-old was named World’s Best Single Malt at the 2025 World Whiskies Awards.

It’s from this incredible record of success that Billy has cemented his reputation as one of the most prominent whisky figures of his generation.

Anthony Wills, 68, has worked in the drinks industry for 46 years.   For the last 31 years he has been involved in the international sales and marketing of premium single malts.   In 2001 Anthony embarked on a project to build a farm distillery on Islay.   In 2005 Kilchoman Farm Distillery started production and in September 2009 released their first single malt to international acclaim.   Sixteen years on and Kilchoman is selling to over 60 markets worldwide and production is over 600,000 litres of alcohol a year.  Anthony is managing director, his wife, Kathy, office manager and his three sons, George, James and Peter look after sales and marketing.   Kilchoman is privately owned and a family run business.

Steph has a diverse background ranging from astrophysics to genomics in academia and film & TV to dance in the arts and the third sector. A project and programme management professional, she loves to develop and build collaborations across organisations to help people with their data/AI journey.

Steph led on Data Lab’s efforts in support of the Scottish Government in developing Scotland’s AI Strategy and she’s now leading on the delivery of the strategy’s vision for Scotland to be a leader in the development and use of trustworthy, ethical and inclusive AI. She is also Co-Founder of Diverse AI and was recognised as one of the 100 Brilliant Women in AI Ethics in 2023 and one of the Top 10 Women in Tech in Scotland in 2023. She was also awarded the 2024 DataIQ Award for Data & AI For Good Champion