IBD Masterclass Speaker

Jonathan Driver - Managing Director at William Grant & Sons

Jonathan is the Managing Director of Standfast (the Private Client sales division) at William Grant & Sons. In this capacity he has responsibility for sales of the old and rare whisky stocks of the company: cask sales, cask bottlings, special commissions and limited editions with particular focus on Glenfiddich and The Balvenie single malt whiskies together with the last remaining stocks from the Ladyburn distillery (1966 – 1974).

2014 - to date	During this time he became a non-executive Director of Compass Box whisky, a small West London boutique blending company before joining Whyte & Mackay in 2014 as Rare Whisky Director (for Dalmore, Jura and Fettercairn) establishing a Private Client business for the company.
1997 - 2014	At the time of the Diageo merger in 1997 Jonathan took on the role of Global Malt Whisky Director with responsibilities for developing their premium Single Malt Whsiky portfolio. In 2005 he became Integration Director for the recently acquired Bushmills business. In 2006 he left Diageo and founded his own luxury sales and marketing consultancy. Amongst many Johnnie Walker luxury projects he worked on during this time he helped develop and then sell the John Walker & Sons Diamond Jubilee bottling of 2012
1989 - 1997	In 1989 he was recruited to the Central Marketing Department of United Distillers, where he helped launch the Classic Malt range of Single Malts, develop Johnnie Walker Blue Label and set up UD’s Classic Kentucky Bourbon Company
1986 - 1989	He began his career in 1986 working for the Sales and Marketing department of Mappin & Webb, Royal Silversmiths and Garrard & Co, the Crown Jeweller, in London.