Diageo-backed drinks accelerator Distill Ventures has hired former Curious Drinks MD Gareth Bath to lead its European operations.
Bath, who stepped down from the helm of Curious Drinks in late December, will work from Distill’s London office.
His appointment “will increase Distill Ventures’ ability to provide founders with access to the highest calibre support in the industry, helping them to sharpen their commercial edge while giving them the freedom and tools to become the most effective leaders they can be”, the business said.
“Key to this will be developing portfolio companies’ profile with key industry stakeholders.”
Prior to Curious Drinks, Bath worked for BrewDog as the craft brewer’s UK & Ireland MD, as well as Red Bull and Hasbro.
Distill Ventures had “quickly developed its reputation for successfully building some of the most innovative brands in the industry, so joining the company and working alongside the best talent in drinks is an incredibly exciting opportunity”, said Bath.
”I look forward to finding and supporting the best founders across Europe to rapidly scale their businesses.”
Distill has backed some of the drinks industry’s biggest recent success stories, including non-alcoholic smash hit Seedlip, in which it took an initial stake in 2016. Diageo became the majority stakeholder in 2019.
The business was “thrilled to welcome Gareth to the team”, said Distill’s CEO & co-founder Frank Lampen. “We’re confident he will deliver on our ambitious portfolio growth plans across both the alcoholic and non-alcoholic categories, while ensuring that we continue to be one of the most rewarding and exciting places to work in the drinks industry.”
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