THE PARTNERS

JUSTIN HICKLIN

Justin Spent 30 years in agencies running some of London’s most prestigious accounts.  His long association with United Distillers and then Diageo has given him deep insight into everything from malt whiskey to gin and vodka, creating trade and consumer programs for some of the world's great brands. His area of expertise is in the development of brand narratives from the bottle to consumer propositions. He worked with Maison Villevert across their range of brands and has recently chaired CleanCo, the world’s leading independent non alc. spirit's brand.

ANDY BLOCK

Andy is an expert in channel, customer and distributor management as a VP, SVP and Chief Sales Officer. Andy developed core strengths in general management, go-to-market strategy, high-performance coaching, P&L management, trade marketing, organizational design, and legislative affairs. Andy has cultivated a strong portfolio of relationships across wine & spirits distributors, major Control States, like Pennsylvania, and has led direct supplier relationships with Total Wine & More for both wine and spirits.  He has worked at Gallo, Anheuser-Busch, Guinness, Diageo, Rodney Strong and Jacquin’s.

MARK MURRAY

Mark was Diageo’s Senior Vice-President, Global Head of Consumer Planning and DWBB (The Diageo Way of Brand Building). He had oversight of the development of all consumer and shopper insights across 180 countries. He led a global team of 140 insight experts he led the creation of the Next Generation Marketing (NGM) program for Diageo based on breakthroughs in understanding buyer behavior and media opportunities in a digital age. The program was trained to all Diageo marketing, sales, and general management personnel around the world. Before this he was Head of Strategic Planning at JWT in New York and Johannesburg, Global Head of Consumer Planning across the Diageo Vodka, Rum and Tequila portfolios.  Recently he has worked with The Carib Brewery of Trinidad, Parques Reunidos and William Grant & Sons.