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William Grant exec joins WSET board of trustees to help boost spirits
Kirsten Grant Meikle, who works for the procurement team at Scottish distiller William Grant & Sons, is set to join the board of trustees at the Wine and Spirits Education Trust (WSET), to “enhance our understanding of the spirits industry”, CEO Michelle Brampton said.
The WSET has announced that Kirsten Grant Meikle is to join its board of trustees, replacing Allen Gibbons as the Worshipful Company of Distillers’ representative. Gibbons is stepping down this month after serving as a WSET trustee for four years.
Grant Meikle commented that the “formal qualifications WSET offers provide a pathway for talent in the wine and spirits industry to develop and become the next generation of experts”, and said she was “delighted” to be joining the board.
Grant Meikle holds the WSET Level 4 Diploma in Wines & Spirits.
She added: “I am an alumna myself and know first-hand how the resources provided are invaluable to individuals and businesses alike.”
The new board member joined William Grant & Sons UK in 2011 as head of on premise strategy, later becoming director of prestige. She then moved to the company’s US operation as commercial strategy director and, subsequently as regional manager for the State of Illinois. She is now back in the UK and working for the company in the Procurement team.
Her career in wine and spirits began more than 20 years ago, and Grant Meikle previously spent seven years at Matthew Clark where she began in sales and ended up as wine range controller.
WSET chief executive Michelle Brampton thanked Allen Gibbons for “his important contribution over the last four years” and said she was pleased to welcome Grant Meikle to the board. She praised the William Grant & Sons exec for the “valuable skills and experience to bring to the table, especially in helping us to enhance our understanding of the spirits industry, grow the reach of our spirits qualifications and help us to shape our organisation for the future.”
WSET’s Board of Trustees is chaired by Simon McMurtrie. The other members are Miles Beale, Lulie Halstead, Dan Jago, Jo Locke MW, Jo Thornton and Sukhinder Singh.