Hall of Fame

Peter Gordon is a whisky man through and through – a fifth-generation William Grant & Sons family member whose working relationship with the company started in 1977 with ‘getting to know the ropes’ jobs at the Glenfiddich and The Balvenie distilleries during school and university holidays, while living in an unheated croft in the Upper Cabrach. Over this time, he worked in the mash houses, tun rooms and still houses, and then the filling store and warehouses. At university, he studied economics and management science, before moving to London to take various jobs – such as working on an ice lolly production line, mixing muesli, making custard, and working as a task force salesman for United Biscuits.

Peter then studied for an MBA, and was asked to join William Grant & Sons in 1986.

His first real job was the organisation of the company’s 100th anniversary celebrations, an experience that gave him valuable insight into the great history of the company and whetted his appetite to become a part the family business. After his first few years in sales and marketing, Peter became brand manager for Grant’s Whisky, before moving to Girvan to develop the new cereal-processing arm of the company.

Since joining the William Grant & Sons board in 2004, Peter has been instrumental in the evolution of the Ailsa Bay and Hendrick’s distilleries, expansion of the Girvan distillery, development of the Dufftown site, and growth of Glenfiddich and The Balvenie distilleries’ visitor experiences.

A former chairman of the William Grant & Sons board and the William Grant Foundation, he is currently a director of the company’s Supervisory Board and a Family Council member. Peter is also chairman of William Grant & Sons’ Grissan renewable technology business, as part of his role in leading the parent company’s decarbonising agenda.

Alongside his work in the family firm, Peter has had a long history of involvement in the wider industry, including roles as Chairman of the Scotch Whisky Experience and the Scotch Whisky Association. Through his 40-year career with William Grant & Sons, Peter has been fully aware of the main benefit of being part of a fifth-generation family business: the ability to think and plan for the long term.

Two such projects are the creation of Ailsa Bay and the latest Glenfiddich biogas trucks project, the latter of which is the result of an evolution that started in the mid-1980s. For Peter, these tangible results are proof that long-term thinking enables innovation and, ultimately, business success. Peter characterises his role in the company as one of a ‘chameleon’.

He moves between areas of the business, changing and adapting in order to act as a catalyst that helps teams to deliver challenging and innovative projects.

He believes that if he can understand and improve what happens at the coalface, profitability and business benefit should follow.