The Belfast Distillery Company has begun the recruitment process ahead of the opening of its £22 million J&J McConnell’s Distillery in the A-wing of Crumlin Road Gaol later this year.
Its latest hire is Mark Johnston, who takes up a newly created role as head of sales and marketing.
And when its distillery & visitor experience- which is expected to welcome more than 100,000 visitors a year - is fully operational, it will employ around 50 people.
Mark brings a wealth of knowledge and experience from 30 years working in senior commercial leadership roles across multiple markets, categories and channels.
Over the past 15 years he has worked with Molson Coors, Constellation Brands and most recently William Grant & Sons, where he worked in the global commercial development team implementing route-to-consumer strategies.
He has also gained significant international experience working within key markets of USA, Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia, where he lived for three years.
Mark said: “I’m thrilled to be joining such a passionate, energetic and hard-working team at this exciting stage in the McConnell’s journey.
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“McConnell’s is an historic Belfast brand which is making a local and global impact. I’m looking forward to helping the team maximise the potential of McConnell’s and enhancing the strong partnerships and relationships which the company has developed to date across the globe.”
Chief executive John Kelly added: “Mark’s experience in our industry will no doubt help us to continue the very strong growth trajectory which McConnell’s Irish Whisky has been delivering since launch in 2020.
“This is another significant hire at an incredibly exciting time for our company as we are soon to open the doors of McConnell’s Distillery & Visitor Experience, and playing our part in bringing distilling back to Belfast.”
The company is also seeing the continued expansion and global reach for the iconic McConnell’s Irish Whisky brand which is now available in more than 40 international markets.
McConnell’s is now an established brand across North America, Europe, Australia and more recently within key markets in Africa and Asia.
