Mighty Craft builds team to support whisky development

Mighty Craft has announced two key senior appointments as part of its whisky acceleration program. 

Whisky is currently the largest spirits category in Australia and is also growing in popularity globally, as overseas markets continue to be on the lookout for unique, compelling brands. This growing global demand, coupled with whisky attracting superior margins when compared to other spirits, makes for a compelling opportunity for Mighty Craft and its strategy to expand its craft whisky offering. To support this strategy, it has appointed Chris Malcolm and George Campbell.  

Chris Malcolm has been named Director - Group Whisky Production. He will lead the group whisky acceleration program reporting into CEO Mark Haysman. He will chair this working group and mentor George Campbell. Malcolm has held many senior whisky positions in Australia including CEO of Australian Whisky Holdings and former Executive Chairman of Lark Distillery.  

From August, George Campbell will take up the position of Production Manager and Group Distiller, playing a key leadership role in building Mighty Craft's whisky and broader spirits business. Campbell comes to the company from William Grant and Sons flagship Glenfiddich Distillery in Scotland where he has been leading the production team through a significant expansion of the facility (13.8mla to 21mla of annual new make spirit). 

He holds a Bachelor’s degree with Honours from the University of Glasgow in Mathematics and Statistics, a Diploma in Distilling from the Institute of Brewing and Distilling, a Diploma in Boiler Operations Management, and distinction certificates in Occupational Health and Safety and Food Manufacturing. He is also a graduate of the highly esteemed Diageo talent development program.

Together, Malcolm and Campbell have a combined ~ 60 years worth of industry experience. Malcolm will lead the expansion of the Mighty Craft whisky program which will include Whisky expressions under several brands including the Tasmanian Whisky brand, Kangaroo Island Whisky, Seven Seasons Whisky and Sparkke. 

The Mighty Craft whisky acceleration working group will initially focus on the soon to be announced Tasmanian whisky business currently planned for August 2021, the Sparkke whisky program and the completion of the accelerated production capacity on Kangaroo Island. 

The other focus for George will be the expansion of the Kangaroo Island whisky program including the production facility on Kangaroo Island which will result in one of the largest craft Whisky production facilities in Australia. The facility will have the capacity produce 200,000 bottles a year. 

Commenting on the whisky expansion program and new appointments, Mighty Craft Managing Director, Mark Haysman said:

“We are incredibly excited about the support of Chris and appointment of George. This is a real sign of our commitment to accelerating our whisky program and attracting two world renowned experts sets us up to be a major player in the craft whisky space. We have been busy collaborating with Chris for the last six months on brand development and it is very exciting to share these key developments with our investors. Additionally, our investment in Kangaroo Island will be managed by George and will result in one of the largest whisky facilities in the country.  The macro theme is very strong for Australian whisky and while our portfolio is only just emerging, it is incredibly exciting.”