Paul is currently Head of Insights for EMEA and Shopper at Beam Suntory, prior to that he was Global Head of Insights for Asahi, and also headed up Insights for Africa at Diageo and looked after Insights in the UK for Ferrero.   Paul has also held pure innovation roles, and has worked across a number of agencies.

Paul’s superpowers in research are around team leadership, cultural understanding and simplification – landing big insights in the simplest way possible to drive business change.

Jeremy is responsible for transforming the Design capability and output of Diageo’s current brands and new products worldwide.  Diageo is the world's leading premium drinks business.  He is passionate about the impact Design has on business performance and the way Design Thinking leads to breakthrough ideas wherever it is applied.  Standout projects include Johnnie Walker Blue Label, Guinness Harp dispense fount (winner of the DBA Design Effectiveness Grand Prix 2020) and the Johnnie Walker Princes Street Brand Home in Edinburgh which opened in September 2021.

Prior to joining Diageo Jeremy was Head of Design for Tesco, responsible for the portfolio of 19,000 private label products and for leading the Store Formats and Design teams.  His early career was as a Freelance Designer and University Lecturer.

Jeremy is a Cannes Lions and TEDx speaker.  He is Chair of Trustees of the charity Soulmates Academy Foundation, Former Chair of the Design Business Association, a member of the Design Commission advising the UK government on design policy and a visiting Lecturer at Omnes Business School.

Jeremy has taken a lead role shaping the DE&I agenda on behalf of the design industry, chairing the Design Business Association DE&I Council and leading the publication of industry guidelines.  https://www.dba.org.uk/site-search/?keyword=Diversity%2C+Equity+%26+Inclusion%3A  He has spoken extensively on Diageo’s Inclusive Design initiatives and the positive impact when creativity is truly inclusive.

Natalia Kowalczyk is the Vice President and Marketing Director at Brown-Forman, a global company renowned for its ownership and distribution of iconic brands such as Jack Daniel’s, Diplomático Rum, Gin Mare, and Woodford Reserve, among many others. With an extensive career spanning strategic, corporate, and commercial roles, Natalia has cultivated a rich professional background across several major international markets, including Milan, Sydney, London, and Amsterdam.

Currently, Natalia leads the marketing division at Brown-Forman, where she leverages her deep expertise to drive brand growth and market presence. Her leadership is characterized by a strategic vision and a commitment to fostering brand equity and consumer engagement.

In addition to her professional responsibilities, Natalia is a dedicated advocate for women's advancement in the workplace. She proudly sponsors the GROW Employee Resource Group (ERG), an initiative focused on fostering the growth of remarkable and outstanding women, supporting their professional development, and promoting gender diversity within the industry.

Michael Schmid is an accomplished innovator with a diverse background in consumer goods and the spirits industry first as well as with a strong technical and commercial expertise. He started his career at Braun GmbH where he spearheaded innovations in the electric appliances sector and later transitioned to the sports industry where he designed and manufactured a wide range of products.

During his tenure at Procter & Gamble, he gained deep consumer insights and commercial knowledge before spending the last decade at Bacardi where he held various roles in packaging development, activity management and breakthrough innovation. As the packaging development and breakthrough innovation lead, he naturally led several initiatives including sustainability ones.

Michael is also an active member of the Next Generation Blenders Club (NGBC) which provides Bacardi talents with experience from across categories and disciplines to build capability for the future. Michael spent most of his career working in an international context including various assignment abroad.

Jason joined the award-winning ecommerce platform Master of Malt, 5.5 years ago as Head of Commercial, over that time his role evolved into leading the direct to consumer business and owning the P&L for D2C, of which Master of Malt is the most significant part.

His remit includes Commercial, Marketing and Customer Service, although much of Jason's prior experience comes through Commercial management and leadership having been lead buying and commercial functions in organisations such as Tesco, Carphone Warehouse and Best Buy.

In Guala Closures since 2021. Passionate about Sustainability and Innovation.

HANNAH SHARMAN-COX and SIOBHAN PAYNE are committed to elevating the industry from the inside out.

They are the Co-Founders and Organisers of London Cocktail Week – the greatest celebration of bar and cocktail culture in the world, now in its fourteenth year and also The Pinnacle Guide - a brand new 1, 2 & 3 PIN recognition system for the world’s best cocktail bars, created in partnership with Dan Dove (global Bartending)

They are also consultants, contributors and connectors for the global drinks industry through their consultancy business HANDS, with clients ranging from multi-national drinks companies to independent start-ups. They are regularly featured within the international drinks press and national consumer media, as well as being on the judging panels for many industry awards globally.

HANNAH SHARMAN-COX and SIOBHAN PAYNE are committed to elevating the industry from the inside out.

They are the Co-Founders and Organisers of London Cocktail Week – the greatest celebration of bar and cocktail culture in the world, now in its fourteenth year and also The Pinnacle Guide - a brand new 1, 2 & 3 PIN recognition system for the world’s best cocktail bars, created in partnership with Dan Dove (global Bartending)

They are also consultants, contributors and connectors for the global drinks industry through their consultancy business HANDS, with clients ranging from multi-national drinks companies to independent start-ups. They are regularly featured within the international drinks press and national consumer media, as well as being on the judging panels for many industry awards globally.

Mark has worked in the drinks industry for over 20 years across a variety of commercial, and both consumer and trade marketing roles. In his current role, Mark uses his experience to lead and grow Pernod Ricard UK’s Enterprise Portfolio a collection of incubator brands including Lillet, Italicus, Del Maguey, and The Deacon.

Greg Klingaman is a retail and consumer sector executive with over 20 years’ experience leading business transformations and creating experiential destinations for major brands including Johnnie Walker, Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein, and The Home Depot. Based in Amsterdam, he is currently VP, Strategy and Field Operations EMEA for AnyRoad, the leading experiential marketing platform. At AnyRoad he is responsible for leading their international expansion, overseeing EMEA business operations, and helping alcohol and CPG brands to optimise their experiential investments.

In his previous role as Global Retail Director at Diageo, he architected and led Diageo’s £185M investment in Scotch whisky brand experiences, headlined by the September 2021 opening of Johnnie Walker Princes Street in Edinburgh.

Tom is the co-founder of El Rayo Tequila - a modern Tequila designed to pair with tonic. Launched in 2019, El Rayo is inspiring a new generation of Tequila drinkers to think and drink creatively.

James Shillcock is the Global Commercial Director of CleanCo, the UK’s leading independent non-alcoholic spirits brand. James has been with CleanCo and the Founding team from day 1 in 2019.

CleanCo develops a range of non-alcoholic spirits covering gin, rum, vodka, tequila and whiskey, and the brand is now listed across all major retailers in the UK, plus Nobu, Claridges, Hakkassan and other world-class operators. The brand recently launched into Walmart in the US and is already the fastest growing non-alc spirits brand in the US.

Melianthe has been working for O-I, the world's largest glass container manufacturer, since 12 years and has a background in Marketing.   She has held several positions within O-I’s commercial department covering Marketing Communication, Category Management and Innovation.  Over the past couple of years she has been working with a multidisciplinary team in O-I to explore and validate direct2shape digital printing technologies for glass packaging.

In May 2018, Melianthe got appointed Global Innovation Platform Director for O-I.  As part of this role she is overseeing the commercialization and global expansion of O-I : EXPRESSIONS (www.discoverexpressions.com), O-I’s platform offering personalization and customization services for brands enabled by direct2glass digital printing. Since January 2020, Melianthe expanded her role, and she is now also leading O-I’s Spirits and Wine marketing teams globally.

Hailing from South Africa, Hendre' joined the ranks of Distillers in 2014, after spending 15 years in the Liquor and Hospitality Industry at various levels. Over a period of 7 years, Hendre' trained over 6 000 individuals from more than 35 countries in the science and art of distillation. He designed, constructed, and commissioned more than 100 Craft Distilleries in over 14 countries - so far afield as Australia, Europe, the Middle East and of course, Africa.

In 2022, Hendre' joined the ranks of JIM & TONIC as Head Distiller and Production Manager, and he has since overseen the companies' product portfolio expansion and diversification, the launch of their RTD range, construction of 2 new distilleries, and a complete overhaul of the company's sustainability strategy.

Adi is a director with Signature Glass, the business innovation partner of Sisecam / Pasabahce.

Sisecam is one of largest manufacturers of tabletop glassware in the world and Signature Glass leads the relationship management with top tier beverage brands and prides on challenging manufacturing and business dogmas.

The golden thread in Tom’s life is food and drink, it’s his passion and has been his career for two decades. From producing, sourcing, selling, creating, and consuming he has devoted his career to it and in 2012 launched an artisan distillery. Growing up on a farm, with a gregarious mother who taught home economics created the hard working, bonne vivant producer at the heart of Warner’s Distillery. “There was no other option, farming is an entrepreneurial industry, so starting a business was in the blood and hosting people for home-made food and drink is my passion, the distillery allows me to share that passion with the world.”

Warner’s Distillery  now create award winning liquid across 4 categories (gin, 0% and rum) increasing their self-sufficiency and working with nature as they grow. They were the first craft distillery to launch a range of 100% natural non-alcoholic spirits and the team continues to push the boundaries of the spirits industry, forging new variants and entirely new categories, creating award-winning favourites and world firsts like their Rhubarb Gin, where one third of every bottle is real rhubarb juice. Their new brand Trash and Treasure focusses on utelising food waste from other UK manufactueres to make a sustainable spirits range.