THE Ardgowan Distillery has appointed industry veteran Mike Keiller as its new chair as the Inverclyde whisky makers gear up to build their new flagship distillery.

Keiller will begin his role today when he takes over from current chairman Willie Philips, who is standing down after four years at Ardgowan and nearly 50 years in the trade.

Keiller is a qualified Scottish chartered accountant whose early career began at Bell’s Scotch Whisky in Perth, followed by senior finance and corporate roles at Guinness, United Distillers Europe and Diageo.

He served as a non-executive director with The Last Drop Distillers from 2016 until 2018.

Ardgowan Distillery CEO Martin McAdam said: "Mike is a fantastic guy and it’s great to welcome him as our new chair. In the months ahead we will commence the build of our world-leading carbon negative distillery with the goal of producing the very finest premium malt whisky.

"Mike’s industry experience in Scotland, the UK and internationally will prove crucial as our production ramps up in the years to come.

“I also wish to play tribute to our outgoing chairman Willie Phillips, who supported us through the challenging start-up phase."