Australia’s Blue Sky Drinks Co has named Paul Slaughter as the fledgling company’s CEO.
Slaughter (below), who began with Blue Sky last week, joins the company following two and a half years as CEO of food wholesaler Stellar Distribution. He took over from Greg Mitchell, who joined the business when it was formed, ten months ago, and is now CFO, according to LinkedIn.
Prior to joining Stellar, Slaughter held CEO roles at companies including agribusiness Harvest Road and Australian-owned bakery Mrs Mac’s. He began his career at FMCG multinational Procter & Gamble.
“It is an absolute pleasure to announce that I have joined the fantastic team at Blue Sky Drinks Co to help lead and build our ambition to create Australia’s largest independent spirits and ready-to-drink business,” Slaughter said.
Blue Sky was formed following the merger of Gravity Drinks and the brand portfolio of Top Shelf International in October. The company owns four brands: Golden Bickie, Grainshaker Vodka, Gravity Drinks Co and Ned Australian Whisky. A fifth new-to-market brand, an Australian agave-based spirit called Sollos, is also being prepared for release in the coming weeks.
Last week, Tasmanian single malt producer Lark Distilling Co detailed a push in the global travel retail channel in Asia for its namesake whisky. The publicly listed distiller has made several executive appointments over the past year; most recently, the hire of Brick Lane Brewing’s Paul Bowker as CFO in March, preceded by Four Pillars Gin founder Stuart Gregor as CEO last September.
