Scotch Whisky firm William Grant & Sons — maker of Glenfiddich and The Balvenie — has announced the appointment of Søren Hagh as chief executive officer from January 1, 2024.

Hagh will take over from Glenn Gordon, who will remain as a non-executive director on the board.

“Søren’s recent career has been with Heineken, where he is currently in the role of President, Europe, having full responsibility for all of the company’s operations in this geography,” said William Grant & Sons.

“Europe is the largest division of Heineken. Previously at Heineken, Søren also held roles as Managing Director of Italy and Executive Director, Global Marketing.

“Before Heineken, Søren worked with L’Oreal in both Marketing and in-market Distribution management roles, and before that at the start of his career with Lego in marketing roles, latterly as Global Marketing Director.

“Søren has an MBA from INSEAD, as well as a Master’s and Bachelor’s degree from the University of Aarhus in Denmark.”

A spokesperson for William Grant & Sons said: “There is no doubt that Søren will provide strong leadership for the company, as he brings a tremendous wealth of relevant experience to the business from his many years working in the drinks sector and with his substantial commercial and marketing experience building global consumer brands in a number of sectors.”