Australian spirits enterprise Blue Sky Drinks has named Paul Slaughter as its chief govt officer.
The group stated in an announcement the transfer comes because it “fast-tracks plans to turn out to be Australia’s largest impartial spirits and ready-to-drink enterprise”.
Blue Sky Drinks was fashioned in October after buying Australian distiller High Shelf Worldwide and native RTD enterprise Gravity Drinks.
The publicly-listed High Shelf appointed directors in August final yr to discover a recapitalisation or sale of the Grainshaker vodka enterprise.
Monetary phrases of Blue Sky’s acquisitions of High Shelf and Gravity Drinks weren’t disclosed on the time.
Slaughter begins his new function on the spirits group this week, Blue Sky stated.
He joins the enterprise from Australian importer and distributor Stellar Distribution, the place he was CEO for greater than two years.
His earlier expertise additionally contains being chief govt at Australian beef and seafood processor Harvest Highway Group, and native meat pies maker Mrs Mac’s.
“It has been an enormous six months for the reason that merger (with Gravity Drinks Co. and High Shelf
Worldwide) and we have achieved an infinite quantity in that point, lowering A$10 million ($7m) of our price base and rising energetic shops by 50%,” founder and chairman Mick Spencer stated.
“Paul brings greater than twenty years of govt management expertise, he is led some unimaginable Australian manufacturers via intervals of transformation and development, understands complicated operations and has a confirmed capacity to construct high-performing groups.”
Liam Battye and Mr Spencer, two of Gravity Drinks’ founders, joined the brand new Blue Sky Drinks enterprise when it launched final yr. Battye is head of operations.
Former Beam Suntory and Sazerac govt Ray Noble additionally took a seat on the brand new firm’s board.
Simply Drinks has requested Blue Sky for particulars on the shareholding construction of the enterprise.
Blue Sky’s new CEO Slaughter stated: “I’ve led or labored on plenty of high quality companies with nice individuals previously, and I can actually say that this small, however constructing workforce, punches extremely above its weight.”
Blue Sky Drinks’ portfolio can be made up of manufacturers resembling Ned whisky and Gravity alcoholic seltzer RTDs.
In its assertion, the enterprise stated it was additionally getting ready to launch one other agave spirit model known as Sollos, which it claims is “Australia’s first single-estate agave spirit”. The corporate can be because of open a cellar door for the model in Whitsundays on the finish of subsequent month.
When Blue Sky Drinks acquired High Shelf, it additionally purchased the agave model Act of Treason. Simply Drinks has requested for particulars on what has occurred to the model.
