Kliro Capital Partners has announced the appointment of Ed Cottrell as chief executive of the newly launched Fortitude Spirits Group.
Cottrell took up the role effective from 16 December and will be working alongside the Fortitude Spirits Group chairman Warren Scott, leading the senior management team as they continue to scale the business with the ambition of becoming one of the leading independent UK spirits companies.
Kliro Capital Partners, who acquired ICB in June 2023, launched Fortitude Spirits Group in October this year.
The investment group said Cottrell brings knowledge, experience and a network to the team from 28 years in the drinks industry. Starting his career as an Army officer, he then joined Diageo where he spent 14 years, including leading its prestige business, Justerini & Brooks.
He has held number of other roles including commercial director of Enterprise Inns (now Stonegate), managing director of William Grant & Sons’ Global Travel Retail business, based in Singapore, and most recently leading the category team at MMI in the UAE. He has also been non-executive chair of Saccone & Speed Ltd, Gibraltar, since 2022.
“I am delighted to welcome Ed to the Fortitude Spirits Group at an important point in our journey,” Warren Scott, chairman, Fortitude Spirits Group, said.
“Ed brings a unique combination of UK commercial insight together with premium brand international expertise. His roles at Diageo and Stonegate provided hands on experience in the highly competitive UK spirits industry across different categories and price points, both in the on and off-trade. His time at William Grant & Sons and more recently with MMI, have enabled him to be at the forefront of international premium brand development providing detailed insight into European, Middle East and Asian spirit markets.
“As we move into 2025, Fortitude Sprits Group under Ed’s leadership, will accelerate the building of its own premium brand portfolio together with a collection of exciting third party owned international brands. Ed will also lead the expansion of the international operations of the group through the appointment of appropriate country distributors in key overseas markets. This is an exciting time for Fortitude Spirits Group and Kliro Capital is looking forward to supporting Ed in pursuit of our ambitious goals.”
Cottrell said: “I am thrilled to be joining Fortitude Spirits Group. The management team is a good combination of new and established, the brand portfolio is exciting and well-positioned, and there are significant opportunities with our partners to grow at scale in both the UK and internationally. I am convinced we can build a highly respected UK based international spirits company in the coming years.”
