Toll Group

Supporting the smooth flow of global drinks logistics.

Vice President Vertical Sales, Liquid - UK

The Worshipful Company of Distillers

Committee Chair, Steward

ewan lacey.com

Working with people and teams to make life and business better.

Some clients also hired me for senior positions.

Clients include:
Goldman Sachs
HSBC Private Bank
Marble Bar
Jascots Wine Merchants
IWSC Group
Hellmann Worldwide Logistics
ProWein
Mirror Group
BBC London
Kavalan
Channel 4
Daily Telegraph
NRS Healthcare
YO!Sushi
Penfold’s
Armand de Brignac
LIDL Foodstores
PWC
Commodity Business Awards
GLG
Jamie Oliver Fabulous Feasts

Commitment 

Many individual founders, business owners and successful executives all the way up to the C-suite.

Founder

Hellmann Worldwide Logistics

As a Global Director – Beverage Logistics, I was responsible for:
Leding teams involved in both origin/destination of trade, while facilitating bilateral transactions and addressing client concerns related to prevailing logistical challenges in market, such as Brexit changes, pricing instability, and space availability; promoting to position of Global Director after providing interim support to business for a period of three years; overseeing strategic planning and managing relationships with key clients, such as Concha y Toro, The Co-Op, The Wine Society, Adnams, and Hallgarten; entrusting with task of driving strategic sales in global beverage logistics sector, while engaging with diverse portfolio of large international customers and renowned brands in the market/fostering collaborative relationships with key stakeholders.
My key highlights in this role include:
• Enhanced skillsets and increased capabilities by restructuring and reorganising of UK beverage team.
• Improved overall responsiveness to client requirements by introducing key performance indicators (KPIs).
• Achieved 20% improvement in productivity by consolidating team under one roof/fostering solid work environment.
• Reduced 30% cost of overhead expenses by merging two separate offices into single environment for UK business.

Global Director - Beverage Logistics

I served as Interim Operations Director – Beverage Logistics and was accountable for:
Providing direct leadership and oversight to beverage logistics teams across multiple countries, including UK, France, Spain, Italy, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Indonesia, Chile, and Argentina; cultivating strong relationships between global offices and clients to assure delivery of exceptional customer experiences.
My key successes during this role were:
• Drove impressive 25% increase in business unit turnover by achieving significant £50m growth from 2017 to 2021.
• Played pivotal role in development and coordination of highly profitable wine and spirit competition logistics business.
• Elevated EBITDA performance of UK business by transforming break-even state to achieving remarkable 17% revenue.
• Streamlined operations by merging two offices into a single location, delivering substantial cost savings of 30% on overhead expenses.
• Ensured continued competitiveness by redesigning product offerings for key routes, such as Italy-UK and Latin America-UK in response to price fluctuations.
• Exceeded £50M sales revenues/turnover by completing profit/loss (P&L) business leadership, assuming responsibility for strategic sales, business development, and day-to-day supervision of ten global offices.
• Realised £220k profit by demonstrating exceptional performance and achieving 25% increase in revenue across global competitions including Decanter, International Wine Challenge, and International Wine/Spirit Competition.

Interim Operations Director - Beverage Logistics

IWSC Group Ltd

I performed as Managing Director, and my responsibilities include:
Managing day-to-day business operations, including coordinating the customer journey, maintaining quality performance, overseeing technical and assessment procedures, and collaborating with diverse team of industry experts; overseeing team of six direct reports and administered total headcount of 22 FTEs.
My signature achievements were the following:
• Achieved a significant revenue increase of 35% from 2013 to 2017.
• Enhanced EBITDA performance from 17% to 27% by demonstrating substantial improvement in financial results.
• Developed and executed business strategies for the group companies by aligning with ambitious growth objectives.

Managing Director

During my tenure as Interim General Manager, I have finalized multiple tasks related to:
Holding full accountability for diverse portfolio of group companies, including International Wine and Spirit Competition; Strategically formulating and implemented business plans for the group companies, while effectively managing high turnover; leading and directing portfolio of over 16 consumer/trade events at prominent venues such as The Oval, The Carlton Club, Truman Brewery, and The Guildhall.
The following were my key contributions:
• Orchestrated end-to-end project lifecycle management and delivery by encompassing project planning, scope definition, budgeting, and risk management.
• Demonstrated comprehensive business leadership by assuming responsibility for all aspects of P&L, driving strategic direction, vision, and continued growth of organisation.
• Ensued exceptional client experiences and provide internal employees with ample opportunities for professional development by fostering engagement throughout organisation.

Interim General Manager

ewanlacey.com

Director, Business Consultant, Ewanlacey.com
Operations Manager, Wine of the Times
General Manager, Café Med, Notting Hill
Operations Manager, YO! Sushi
Property Manager, Lidl Foodstores Gmbh
Steward of The Worshipful Company of Distillers & Chair of Marketing Committee
Part of the ‘Distillers One of One Team, Distillers
Drinks Expert, James Martin Saturday Morning & Channel 4 Television
Drinks Industry Commentator, Channel 5 Sky News
Drinks Writer, Sunday Mirror; Daily Telegraph, Women & Home
Regular Guest & Contributor, BBC Radio

Additional Experience

With 20+ years of experience in the drinks industry I am still excited by chasing inefficiency out and bringing sustainability and good sense in.

Ewan Lacey

Daniel Rowntree Coaching

An ICF, Animas and Dryy Accredited Transformational Coach.

Focused on supporting mission-led people, businesses and brands in the dry economy and what comes next.

Founder Coach

High and Dry Ltd

An agency with one eye on the future.

On a mission to educate and inspire a generation of decision makers, businesses, innovators, investors and curious consumers about the dry economy and what comes next.

Big Hug Brewing Ltd

A beer brand with a social conscience. We brew accessible, flavoursome beer for craft curious consumers. All the founders are friends and we have created a business with a mission to bring a little warmth into the world. We are not trying to create a revolution, more of a love in.

Co-Founder

BrewLDN

Brew Events exists to level the playing field….

We create and own category driving F&B events and media channels that engage consumers and deliver long lasting commercial returns for F&B businesses.

Our inclusive and diverse environments allow F&B businesses to shine; we do this by exposing consumers, buyers and creators to new products, brands and experiences.

We pride ourselves on a deep understanding of our partners business objectives by creating personal relationships and using data to advise them on how best to engage the buyers and consumers they desire.

Phytome Life Sciences

Phytome is a next gen, Biotech Start-Up.

Changing the world of medicine by unlocking the power of plants.

Our mission is to discover new botanical medicines, to disrupt and improve the existing pharma model.

We believe plants make better medicines for people than chemicals can.

We have one of only a handful of home office licenses that allow us to work with cannabis plants.

Fractional CMO / Investor

BrewBroker

Our vision is to open up and connect every part of the global beer industry. 

http://www.brewbroker.com/find-brewery-supplier

Co-Founder / Investor

Built Unique Co

A small class / PT fitness community in Sutton Coldfield focusing on Functional Fitness

The Ardent Company

A trailblazing independent accelerator in the drinks industry.

I was the founding partner from idea, through fundraising and eventual launch in both the UK and US.

I created the first version of the founder support system, Ardent calls Fuel.

I inducted and coached the first partner businesses that Ardent invested in.

Founding Partner & Head of Fuel

WAA Chosen

WAA Chosen is a full-service, integrated marketing and communications agency.
 
STIR is our dedicated hub, housing a team that specialises with delivering successful campaigns within the Retail and Leisure sectors.
 
Working for many years with companies such as Diageo, Britvic Soft Drinks, Papa John’s, Delaware North, Stonegate, Greene King and Marston’s.

Additionally, we are the team behind the creation and continuing management of Diageo Bar Academy, a global ‘category development programme’ that generates 14% sales uplift post training. To this day, Diageo Bar Academy is one of the most successful ROI generators of any of the programmes run in Diageo’s history.

Non Executive Director

Elastic

A drinks specialist marketing agency.

Sold to Matthew Clark in 2015.

£3.9million turnover, £700k EBITDA business when exited in 2017.

Subsequently rising to £5million turnover before leaving the business in 2019.

Stayed on as MD during the Conviviality purchase of Matthew Clark and the subsequent takeover by C&C Group.

Director

Founder | Investor | Board Advisor | Context Coach | ICF, Animas, Dryy Accredited

You're an ambitious founder building something meaningful. 

But the constant firefighting and pressure to "professionalise" are pulling you away from both your vision and your ability to scale sustainably.

You're not alone. 

After founding 14 businesses and coaching hundreds of leaders, I've discovered most founders face the same challenges: maintaining their founder spirit while building systems that prevent burnout.

Through my work, I help founders like you:

> Move from reactive firefighting to strategic leadership
> Build systems that amplify rather than dilute founder DNA
> Transform overwhelm into focused clarity
> Create space to work ON your business without losing what makes it special
> Keep alive the irrational belief that drives founder success

My approach comes from real experience:

→ Built and sold businesses with over 20 years as a founder
→ As many failures as successes, and the experience of how to manage both
→ Maintained my founder power through multiple ownership changes post exit
→ Managed stakeholders from HNW's, crowdfunds through to family offices
→ Helped generate £60M+ investment across 7 raises
→ Transformed from a drinks industry leader to champion of the dry economy

What truly sets my work apart is understanding that founders need both practical business guidance AND the ability to maintain their founding passion. 

My methodology helps you:

> Break free from overwhelm while staying true to your vision
> Build systems that scale without sacrificing founder spirit
> Lead with both confidence and conviction
> Achieve sustainable growth while honouring your original mission

Because the world needs more founders who remain deeply connected to their purpose while building businesses that thrive without burning out.

Ready to transform how you run your business while keeping alive the magic that started it?

🔥 "Working with Daniel has been nothing but a positive decision for me, for my businesses and for my team. The ripple effect of his counsel has been so impactful." - Lizzie Hanbury-Tenison, Founder/CEO

🔥 "Daniel has helped me find clarity and held me accountable in just 4 months, what I want to change and what I want to let go of." - Mark Walsh, Founder

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The Battle

Ewan Lacey

Daniel Rowntree

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