December 8th – WSET (the Wine & Spirit Education Trust) has announced that Kirsten Grant Meikle is to join its Board of Trustees, replacing Allen Gibbons as the Worshipful Company of Distillers’ representative. Allen is stepping down this month, having served as a WSET trustee for four years.
Kirsten has spent more than twenty years in the wine and spirits business. After seven years at Matthew Clark where she began in sales and ended up as Wine Range Controller, she joined William Grant & Sons UK in 2011 as Head of On Premise Strategy, later becoming Director of Prestige. She then moved to the company’s US operation as Commercial Strategy Director and, subsequently, the Regional Manager for the State of Illinois.
She is now back in the UK and working for the company in the Procurement team. Kirsten is a great champion of women in the spirits industry and, in particular, has made a huge impact in helping to shift the perception that whisky is a man’s drink. Kirsten holds the WSET Level 4 Diploma in Wines & Spirits.
Commenting on her appointment, Kirsten says, “I am delighted to be joining the WSET Board of Trustees. The formal qualifications WSET offers provide a pathway for talent in the wine and spirits industry to develop and become the next generation of experts. I am an alumna myself and know first-hand how the resources provided are invaluable to individuals and businesses alike.”
WSET Chief Executive Michelle Brampton comments, “I would like to thank Allen for his important contribution over the last four years. I am very pleased to welcome Kirsten to the WSET Board of Trustees. Kirsten has valuable skills and experience to bring to the table, especially in helping us to enhance our understanding of the spirits industry, grow the reach of our spirits qualifications and help us to shape our organisation for the future.”
WSET’s Board of Trustees is chaired by Simon McMurtrie. The other members are Miles Beale, Lulie Halstead, Dan Jago, Jo Locke MW, Jo Thornton and Sukhinder Singh.
About WSET
- Set up in 1969, WSET (the Wine & Spirit Education Trust) is the largest global provider of wines, spirits and sake qualifications.
- WSET offers qualifications across four levels, from one-day beginner courses through to an expert level diploma.
- WSET qualifications are available through 800 plus course providers in more than 15 languages and over 70 countries and are open both to industry professionals and consumer enthusiasts.
- WSET is recognised as an awarding organisation by Ofqual, the English regulator of qualifications and examinations. All WSET qualifications have a strong reputation worldwide as the industry standard for knowledge.
- Since 1969, WSET has awarded nearly one million individuals a WSET qualification.
- For more information about WSET, please visit wsetglobal.com.
