New group CFO for Quintessential

By Mathew Lyons

Published: 24 February, 2020

International spirits producer Quintessential Brands has appointed Alex Pollard as its new group chief finance officer.

Pollard joins the group from AB Mauri, a $1.3bn division of Associated British Foods, where he was also chief finance officer.

He has over 20 years’ experience at senior finance positions, including three years as regional finance for the FTSE-100 Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling.

He previously spent five years at Gilead Sciences, a Nasdaq-listed pharma/biotech company, where he was instrumental in growing the company’s European business from $100m to $500m in two years.

The appointment comes as Quintessential looks to accelerate growth internationally.

Founded in 2011 by Enzo Visone, former chief executive of Gruppo Campari, and entrepreneur Warren Scott, Quintessential has expanded rapidly and is now the number-two spirits provider to the UK off-trade and the leading gin producer in UK grocery.

Commenting on the appointment, Warren Scott, Quintessential’s chief executive, said: “Following the rapid growth of our business over the last eight years in the UK and Ireland, we now have our sights firmly set on accelerating our global growth strategy.

“Alex is a seasoned business leader and brings with him a wealth of global finance expertise that I’m confident will help to further strengthen our organisation. I’m delighted to welcome him to the Quintessential Brands team.”

The group has also recently strengthened its finance team with the recruitment of Tim Nuttall as finance director for the UK and France and Alan Morris as chief financial officer for Ireland.

In recent weeks it has expanded its team in the UK with serior hires from Kingsland and Fuller's.

Quintessential’s portfolio of premium gins includes Bloom, Thomas Dakin and Opihr, alongside its flagship Greenall’s brand.

The group also owns G&J Distillers in Cheshire, alongside distilleries in France and Ireland, which has enabled it to build its successful ‘Spirit Solutions’ business in the UK, supplying leading multiple grocers with private- and own-label spirits.

Pollard takes over as group chief financial officer role from Roger Lowe, who will leave the group April after two years in the position.

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