The Oxford Artisan Distillery appoints new Managing Director

The Oxford Artisan Distillery has appointed Mark Harvey as Managing Director of Sales & Marketing, bringing a wealth of experience and success across a number of leading premium drinks brands, most recently Chapel Down, England’s leading winemaker. 

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The Oxford Artisan Distillery, the English Whisky producer leading the way on sustainable farming and production, has appointed Mark Harvey as Managing Director, Sales & Marketing. This is an exciting move for the Company, which recently announced investment from Diageo accelerator Distill Ventures. Mark brings a wealth of experience and success across a number of leading premium drinks brands, most recently Chapel Down, England’s leading winemaker. 

Harvey comments: “I’m delighted to have joined Dave Smith and the team at The Oxford Artisan Distillery. Working with heritage grains, not only are we producing uniquely delicious whiskies but also leading the revolution in tackling sustainable farming and grain production. Like when I started at Chapel Down, there’s great excitement around the journey and growth to come!”

The recent investment will support the next stage of the company’s growth by enabling the upgrade and expansion of its Oxford site, tripling production capacity whilst radically reducing water usage by 90%. Grain handling will also take place on site to reduce vehicle movements. And developing further off site production capacity, with a partner equally committed to sustainable practices, will allow the company to scale to be one of England’s largest whisky producers. 

Further investment will be made in an enhanced visitor experience at the Distillery, welcoming up to 15,000 people per year and opening the site to the general public walking through Oxford’s South Park; as well as in the continued development of The Oxford Artisan Distillery brand. 

David Smith, CEO, comments: “We are thrilled Mark has joined us on this exciting journey. He brings with him a wealth of success within both established and challenger premium brand businesses. This is great news for our business partners and our consumers as we seek to play our part in the rise of the English whisky movement."