Board of Directors
Jeff Olyniec
Deputy Chair
Jeff has more than 20 years experience in China, and has built a number of different companies across many different industries including a successful Shenzhen stock market listing. Jeff currently holds board positions at 10 different companies with 8 of them based in China.
Jeff is a founder, a board member and a significant investor in this Nine Rivers Distillery. You can contact Jeff on LINKEDIN.
Joy Tan
Director
Joy has more than 20 years of experience in marketing and communication fortune for 100 brands. She currently runs her own consultant company where her clients are MNCs, which she offers on government, media and brand management.
Prior to this, she was on the senior position in Huawei Technologies. Joy is a member of the Board of Directors and is responsible for executing the branding strategy.
Jay Robertson
CEO and Founder
Jay has extensive experience working in both the technology industry and the alcohols industry. This cross over led to Jay being the founder of some online wine and liquor retail platforms, one of which was a catalyst for Nine Rivers Distillery.
Jay is our CEO and a member of the Board of Directors. His skills and experience across alcohols, sales and technology are all relevant in leading the Nine Rivers Distillery Team. You can contact Jay on LINKEDIN.
Stephen Davies
Chairman
Stephen led the team that brought whisky distilling back to Wales after more than 100 years absence. Stephen continues to lead that team as CEO of The Welsh Whisky Company and has won numerous international awards being won for Penderyn Single Malts
Stephen is a Chairman for Nine Rivers Distillery and his experience with The Welsh Whisky Company has strategic influence on how our Board of Directors will lead this project. Stephen can be contacted on LINKEDIN.
Daniel Liang
Director
Daniel has more than 20 years experience running a successful manufacturing operation in China. His multicultural background and education, along with his extensive experience in firms from start-ups to international conglomerates, allow him to understand the cultural nuances and navigate the unique business landscape in China.
JAN L.BRONI
Director
Jan has been in China for more than 15 years where he leads a number of companies and concurrently is EVP Global Supply Chain for Meyra Group, GM for AluRehab Xiamen, Chairman of the board of the Danish Chamber of Commerce in South China and Chairman of the Board of the Danish Chamber of Commerce in China.
Jan is a true whisky lover across all styles and categories. He's keen to start working with micro-casks and rapidly ageing whiskies at home to his own tastes. He can be contacted on LINKEDIN.
Board Advisors
Stuart MacPherson
Master of Wood and Board Advisor
Stuart has more than 40 years experience in the industry, starting his career as a journeyman cooper and eventually becoming the Master of Wood for Edrington's Macallan.
Stuart has joined Nine Rivers Distillery to lead our cooperage project here in China.
Jonathan Dahan
Advisor
Jonathan has extensive experience working in the wines and spirits industry. He has been Export Director Asia for a few leading European wine and spirits producers for the past 15 years. Additionally, he is also a founder and managing partner for one of the major wine importers in China. Jonathan is a Senior Advisor...
due to his understanding of both the local and the international markets. Jonathan’s insights and experience are crucial in building our national and overseas sales network.
Neil Playfoot
Master Brewer and Board Advisor
Neil has been brewing beer for more than 27 years from small brewpubs with microbreweries, right up to massive commercial breweries. An advocate of quality first in everything he creates in a brewhouse.
Neil is Board Advisor and will be leading everything from malting to brewing. Neil can be contacted on LINKEDIN.
Founders
Jin Jin Chen
Founder
Jin Jin is a co-founder and shareholder in an extensive group of companies that import, distribute, wholesale and retail wines, liquors and whiskies. Jin Jin's experience in the Chinese alcohols market stretches back over a decade, initially starting with a casual interest in European wines.
Jin Jin is led by wine cask finishes when it comes to her preferred styles of whisky. Jin Jin can be contacted on LINKED IN.
Liam McShane
Founder
Liam is the Sales and Marketing Director for a large OEM tech manufacturer with operations in 3 countries and distribution worldwide. Liam is also an avid whiskey and whisky collector with a long time appreciation for good whiskies and was one of the whisky lovers that helped create the monthly whisky social night that was...
the catalyst for the Nine Rivers Distillery project. Liam is a huge fan of the Irish styles of whiskey and the triple distillation technique. You can contact Liam on LINKEDIN.
SHAUN MILLARD
Founder
Shaun is a restaurant bar owner and hi-tech program manager with a talent for “fire fighting” to get through complex issues and create scaleable solutions. From finished goods to component parts and everything involved. Shaun was one of the whisky lovers that helped create the monthly whisky social night that was the catalyst for… the Nine Rivers Distillery project.
Shaun is a big fan of Bourbon and Irish Whiskeys and is keen for us to include sherry finished whiskies in the Nine Rivers Distillery range. Shaun can be contacted on LINKEDIN.
Lee Beaudoin
Founder
Lee is a hi-tech hardware engineer with a talent for leveraging his vast network in China for rapid prototyping and manufacturing of products that target the western market. From drones to vapes and everything in-between. Lee was one of the whisky lovers that helped create the monthly whisky social night that was the catalyst for...
the Nine Rivers Distillery project. Lee is a big fan of Islay styles of scotch and is keen for us to include peated whiskies in the Nine Rivers Distillery range as soon as possible. You can contact Lee on LINKEDIN.
Vinay Dayaram
Founder
Vinay is a third-generation textiles and clothing entrepreneur, producing clothing for international brands through factories across China. Vinay was one of the original team of whisky enthusiasts from the monthly whisky networking events that were the starting point of Nine Rivers Distillery…
was back in 2015. Vinay is a big fan of the more modern styles of whisky from India. Subtropical maturation environments and multiple cask finishes are his personal preference. You can contact Vinay on LINKEDIN
Mudy M. Ghulam
Founder
Mudy has been living and working in China for more than a decade and specialises in logistics. He currently leads the sales team at an international logistics and freight forwarding company and is based in Shenyang. A passionate whisky lover, Mudy started whisky themed events in Shenyang and built a monthly professional networking event around
whisky tastings. Mudy has a diverse interest and enjoys sherry cask finishes, American bourbon styles and Japanese blends. Mudy can be contacted on LINKEDIN.
Lucas Driggers
Founder
Lucas decided to make China his home back in 2007 and he brought with him his live of bourbon and other American Whiskies. In May 2018, Lucas took his passion for whisky a step further by hosting whisky themed events across Wuhan, even winning awards for his educational and entertaining events.
As a founder of Nine Rivers Distillery, Lucas is determined to be one of the first people in China, to be sharing Nine Rivers Distillery whiskies with China. Lucas can be contacted on LINKEDIN.
Aimee McBride
Founder
Aimee has been in China since 2015 and brought her love of whisky with her, initially to Wuxi in Jiangsu, before settling in Shanghai where she teaches psychology. Aimee has been part of the whisky community that underpins the Nine Rivers Distillery project from literally the day that she first got off the aeroplane.
Aimee is a big fan of lighted peated scotch style whiskies. You can contact Aimee on LINKEDIN.
CJ Bowman
Founder
CJ was an early founder member of our whisky community in China when he was based in Beijing for more than 3 years. While CJ no longer lives in China, whisky and Chinese culture are two things he will always be closely aligned to. CJ is currently based in Vietnam and will be leading one
of our first export markets as we take Nine Rivers Distillery alcohols to our neighbours and close friend of China. Another peated whisky fan. CJ can be contacted on LINKEDIN.
Stephen Alexander
Founder
Stephen has been in China since 2015 and brought his love of whiskey (with an "e" as every Irishman would argue) with him. As an airline captain, Stephen has traveled all over the world, exploring almost every style of whiskey (and whisky) on offer and so his mature and refined palate is a big asset
to the project. Stephen is a bourbon fanatic but also very loyal to triple distilled Irish styles with sherry casks. He can be contacted on LINKEDIN.
Dave Kruse
Founder
Dave has more than 16 years of experience working in China or as a bridge between China and North American markets. He's currently the President of Global Sales for an American led, China-based, hi-tech displays manufacturing company. Dave is a bourbon and rye drinker and will be one of the driving forces behind our own
exploration into high corn and high rye mash bills to craft whiskies. Dave can be contacted on LINKEDIN.
Tina Chen
Founder
Tina Chen is a WSET-certified wine professional who has been in charge of importing and sourcing for a leading Chinese wine company since 2016. Originally from Jiangxi Province, her interest in wine and spirits was purely coincidental, and came about through a previous internship as a translator for a liquor import company.
Tina Chen feels that whisky has become a focus of attention because brandy and cognac are too monotonous to be interesting, so she prefers cask strength whisky. You can contact Tina via email or LINKEDIN.
Chan Liu
Founder
Chan Liu is a WSET certified wine professional who has been working in the Chinese wine market since 2016. Originally from Gansu Province, her interest in wine stems from Gansu's importance as a wine region since ancient times.
Chan Liu has recently fallen in love with whisky and prefers lighter, floral whiskies, similar to Lowland Scotch. You can contact her via email or LINKEDIN.
Sasha Fu
Founder
Sasha is quite unique to the team in the sense that she is a crusader for the relevance of blended malt whiskies and how the art of blending is massively overlooked and ignored in recent times, over the growing popularity of the single malt category. Sasha would be keen to see us open more than
one distillery in China and be able to demonstrate how blended whiskies can be a far more appealing product to a vast market such as China. Sasha can be contacted on LINKEDIN.
BEEJAN SOHEILI
Founder
Beejan comes from the west coast of the US. He first came out to China to get closer to the manufacturing hub of the world in 2013 and has been living in Shenzhen ever since.
He can be found around town with a glass of Lagavulin 16 in hand. Beejan can be contacted on LINKEDIN.
MAARTEN ROOS
Founder
Maarten is originally from the Netherlands but has been in China since 1999. He founded the Chinese law firm R&P in 2010 and continues to provide legal support and representation to international companies and expatriates in China.
Maarten has been a keen whisky lover for more than 2 decades with a preference towards American bourbons. He can be contacted on LINKEDIN.
Eric Pallas
Founder
Eric has been in China for almost a decade where he has carved out a name and reputation as a skilled and creative mixologist. Having been the creative catalyst behind the launch and success of a number of leading F&B concepts in Shenzhen. Like everyone else involved in this project, Eric is a lover of
whisky, however, he's also a fan of rum and rhum in all it's styles and is keen to see how we craft and mature our own rhum agricole with China cultivated sugarcane. He can be contacted on LINKEDIN.
SADHWANI NIKHIL SUNIL
Founder
Nikhil was born and raised in Hong Kong SAR. Despite finding it hard to pinpoint which whisky he prefers, his profession as an airline pilot has allowed him to sample all kinds of whisky from the four corners of the globe.
Generally he reaches for a good Scotch, but when the mood takes him he will turn to a Bourbon from time to time. Nikhil sees Nine Rivers as an excellent project to broaden his understanding of whisky and get into the world of distilling as both an investor and active member. He can be contacted on LINKEDIN.
Xiao Shun Chen
Founder
Xiao Shun is amore recent convert to the world of whisky, hailing from Guangdong where the most popular aged spirit has historically been cognac.
Xiao Shun has been captivated by sherry cask matured whiskies and has sword never to touch cognac again.
Brendan Keogh
Founder
Brendan is an Irish national and whiskey carries huge cultural significance to most Irish people. With a diverse career spanning electrical engineering, mental health, GAA player and marathon runner, it was logical (apparently) to get involved in a whisky distillery in China.
With triple distilled Irish whiskey being close to his heart, Brendan is keen to see some of the more experimental bottlings that will be crafted at Nine River Distillery.
CHRISTOPHER GREWCOCK
Founder
Chris has been in China since 2009 in education and also has a back ground in sales and merchandising from the U.K. Chris is a Japanese whisky drinker, but likes to sample a dram or two from anywhere new.
He said it was exciting to be an investor in China's first homegrown whisky distillery. Because it can learn about more types of whisky and broaden his whisky tastes. Christopher can be contacted on LINKEDIN.
Mizhen Ma
Founder
One of very few members of our team that isn't an avid whisky drinker, Mizhen Ma does, however, enjoy craft gin since spending a lot of time in the UK between 2015 and 2016.
Mizhen developed a fondness for floral and fruity gins and is keen for Nine Rivers Distillery to start producing small batch gins for her to enjoy a tipple or two.
Darryl Swanepoel
Founder
Darryl is a multimedia designer specialising in graphic design, packaging design, corporate branding, and marketing media. Based in Shenzhen for over a decade, Darryl and his team have worked on creative projects for both local and international brands - from startups to Fortune 500's.
Darryl enjoys a good whiskey and coffee, but not necessarily at the same time. He can be reached on LINKEDIN.
Guilin Liu
Founder
Guilin has been working in the alcohols industry for more than a decade and is involved in logistics management and importing foreign alcohols. He has a real passion for new world whiskies and micro distillery releases where he appreciates the hand crafted aspect of these whiskies.
Richard Hinchman
Founder
Richard came to China in 2014, initially working as an instructor for the Walt Disney Company on the Guangzhou side; he has worked as a geography teacher in the geography departments of Guangzhou Nanfang International School and Alcanta International College.
Richard dares to experiment with different styles of whisky. He is excited to be part of the distillery as it will give him more exposure to different flavours of whisky and the wonderfully interesting world of whisky. Richard can be contacted on LINKEDIN.
Simon Szewach
Founder
Simon has a long and impressive history in Finance and Investing. He is the Managing Partner of the Legats Group, an Australian based group that invests and works with leading edge companies that showcase innovative technologies and IP. The Legats Group holds investments in 20+ companies across 5 continents.
Simon is our Investment Director and his experience in the world of investment has helped lead our project from an energetic idea into a serious commercial business. Simon can be contacted by on LINKEDIN.
Ambassador Investors
Anastasiia
Anastasiia, Ale's wife, likes complex fruity whiskies, and she likes it when her husband drinks something severely peated and smoky. Something scented as a road under construction on a hot summer day.
She is a Ukrainian designer, it's her job to feel the trends - and the 9RD project seems to be addressing something in the air. She enjoys that vibe and she admires the people making it take shape.
Thomas Molgaard
Thomas is from Denmark and works in the technology sector. He previously lived in Beijing and is now based in Shanghai.
In addition to enjoying whisky, he is an avid motorcyclist, snowboarder and kiteboarder. Thomas can be contacted on LINKEDIN.
Steve Carpenter
Steve is general manager for the environmental equipment company, Pro Fab China. He hails from the USA but has been living in China with his family since 2004. He resides in Wuhan, Hubei.
Steve joined the Wuhan whisky community in 2018 and enjoys learning about all the varieties of whiskies, as well the camaraderie of the community, and this inspired him to become an investor in 9 Rivers Distillery. Steve is a fan of Islay whiskies, especially heavily peated ones. Steve can be contacted on LINKEDIN.
Kundy Kong
Ambassador Investor
Kundy is originally from Hunan Province but has been based in Guangdong for more than 18 years . Kundy has a plethora of knowledge about fine wines and world class spirits and it's that interest that brought him in to the Nine Rivers Distillery Project.
Kundy is keen to start experiencing the high end whiskies that he loves - to finally have a label that says Made in China. Kundy can be contacted by EMAIL.
DANIEL Hobbs
Ambassador Investor
Daniel has been in China since 2012 having spent much of his time working in Nanjing and then Shenzhen where he currently teaches mathematics and physics.
He is also part of the growing whisky networking scene in China. He can be contacted on LINKEDIN.
MISCHA VEENHUYSEN
Ambassador Investor
Mischa is a University of Michigan graduate turned kindergarten teacher who’s been a resident of China for more than 8 years. He also is a connoisseur of drink and food and enjoys a good conversation over a glass.
Mischa was excited to be an investor in China's first crowd funded whisky distillery. Mischa can be contacted on LINKEDIN.
Navin Alwani
Ambassador Investor
Navin has spent more than 20 years in China where he has built a successful business around textiles and fashion.
Navin can be contacted on LINKEDIN.
William Xu
Ambassador Investor
William Xu is originally from Guangdong Province, has been working in plastic industry since the 1990s. With his own diligence and efforts, he has won many awards during this period.
He came into contact with whiskey during a gathering of friends, surprised by its flavor and developed an interest in it.
Mango Niu
Ambassador Investor
Mango is originally from Shanxi Province, one of the cradles of Chinese civilization - Xi'an, the provincial capital is one of the 4 ancient capital cities of China. Mango appreciates Chinese history but is also deeply involved with the technology sector in China. He owns technology companies in Shenzhen. It was the fact that
Nine Rivers Distillery is a harmony of old traditional approaches to distilling with technology being used to create efficiencies that caught Mango's attention and his involvement. Mango can be contacted by EMAIL.
Simon Gibbons
Ambassador Investor
Simon is a Logistics Supply Chain and Purchasing Professional from the UK. Simon came to China in 2016 and resides in Wuhan, Hubei.
Simon has been an active member of the Wuhan whisky community for a number of years and has a passion for whiskies hailing from lkess traditional regions, such as Wales, India and Australia. Simon can be contacted on LINKED IN.
Jean-Pierre Du PREEZ
Ambassador Investor
Jean-Pierre is a Sherry-cask fanatic, South African entrepreneur and CEO of a cross-border product procurement firm.
Jean-Pierre has been a guest speaker and African representative at a number of Trade and Commerce events held across China. He can be contacted on LINKEDIN.
BROCK OBORN
Ambassador Investor
Brock has been based in China for just over 3 years. He is currently a director of product development for a contract manufacturing company that creates innovative products for clients all over the world.
Brock is a big fan of Speyside whisky and also occasionally some bourbon. Brock can be contacted on LINKEDIN.
Wolf Wang
Ambassador Investor
Wolf comes from Fenyang in Shanxi province, a town that is famous for the crafting of traditional herbal liquors that are matured with traditional Chinese medicinal herbs. On taste profiles these traditional alcohols are very different to what we will be crafting at Nine Rivers Distillery and Wolf is looking forward to introducing all
of his hometown friends to something that will be completely different to them all. Wolf can be contacts on EMAIL.
Steve Zhang
Ambassador Investor
Steve is currently the Department Director of China (Shenzhen) International Personnel Training Center where he combines the characteristics of Chinese and foreign cultures and applying them flexibly in his teaching methods.
Steve is also passionate about whisky, with an open mind towards all styles and regions.
Simon Fang
Ambassador Investor
Simon is from Jiangxi Province and after graduating in Science and Technology has gone on to work for one of the most exciting technology companies in China where he specializes in Artificial Intelligence. Simon believes in the potential for small batch, artisanally crafted alcohols
having good potential in China hence being an investor in the Nine Rivers Distillery Project. Simon can be contacted by EMAIL.
Sebastian Fabre
Ambassador Investor
Sebastian is a wine professional that has been working in the China wine industry for more than 6 years. He currently manages one of the most interesting wine portfolios in South China and leads a team that sell and market these wines. Sebastian has been an advocate of whisky for more than 10 years
and combines a duel love of both Islay styles and Highland styles. Sebastian can be contacted on LINKEDIN.
Yusan Wu
Ambassador Investor
Yusan is a whisky enthusiast who has been interested in whisky for more than a decade. Originally a fan of the typical Speyside sherried styles of Scotch, Yusan discovered Islay and it's heavy peating just a few years ago and has never looked back.
You can contact Yusan on LINKEDIN.
Graham Bannerman
Ambassador Investor
Graham made China his home more than 20 years ago and as a Scotsman he brought with him his passion for Scotch whisky. Graham also started a number of whisky themed events in Tianjin in June 2018 which he continues to host and share his knowledge of whisky with anyone that is interested to learn.
While quietly devoted to his love of Islay style whiskies, Graham will give any whisky a fair chance to get a place on his whisky shelf. Graham can be contacted on LINKEDIN.
Mitchie Perine
Ambassador Investor
Mitchie has a career in packaging design with the last decade of this career being based in Guangdong, China.
He concurrently owns and manages his own live music bar in Dongguan.
Travis NEWING
Ambassador Investor
Travis is a whisky enthusiast from Melbourne, Australia, who currently lives in Wuhan, Hubei province. Travis preferred non-peat whisky at first, but now he prefers the taste of whisky like Glenlivet/Glenfiddich.
Travis said that after tasting whisky, he wanted to know more about the brewing process of whisky and how the winery operated whisky, so he being an investor in the Nine Rivers Distillery Project. He can be contacted on LINKEDIN.
Henry Wolfe
Ambassador Investor
Originally from Denmark, Henry came to China in 2014 and has held positions in trading companies, manufacturers and government departments, mainly in international business and international relations.
Henry enjoys all styles of whisky and his preferred flavors are varied.
LUCAS WETTON
Ambassador Investor
Lucas is Kentucky born. He earned his Bachelor of Arts diploma from Centre College and then spent five years working with the family environmental products manufacturer PFC Group. During that time, he lived in Wuhan, China for three years, and oversaw projects throughout Mexico and in a number of grain distilleries throughout Kentucky.
He is a Juris Doctor candidate at Belmont University College of Law in Nashville, Tennessee. While his first love will always be bourbon, he loves a glass of Balvenie or Big Peat Small Batch. He can be contacted on LINKEDIN.
Adam Timcke
Ambassador Investor
Adam is a teaching professional with more than 12 years experience - the last 5 years based in China.
Adam is a big Islay fan and enjoys complex peated single malts.
Tony Avila
Ambassador Investor
Tony has been in China since 2008 where he has spent most of his career working in the F&B industry as an owner and manager of bars and restaurants.
Tony prefers bourbon and will use his extensive network in the industry to support the distribution and sales of Nine Rivers Distillery products. Tony can be contacted on LINKED IN.
Chris Bear
Ambassador Investor
Chris has been in China since January 2012, starting in education and now a Regional Manager for Duvel Moortgat, managing 3 provinces across the South West of China.
Chris has a fondness for Japanese whiskies.
Eric Liang
Ambassador Investor
So, Eric lives in Guangdong, China, where he is a designer and manufacturer of display mannequins in for sale and distribution across the world.
Eric enjoys sherry cask matured whiskies with a fine cigar.
Fabien Dupont
Ambassador Investor
Fabien is originally from France and has been based in Guangdong as a product designer since 2015. It was in Shenzhen that he discovered the diversity and subtility of whisky, but most importantly that whisky is uneventful without interesting international whisky lovers to talk about it.
Fabien developed a preference for Islay whiskies, but still love to explore. His participation in the creation of unique whisky with Nine Rivers Distillery was a natural continuity.
Tina He
Ambassador Investor
Tina is from Guangdong in China where she is a partner in a Foshan based sourcing and export company.
Tina got involved in this project because she believes that whisky should not be a drinks category that is dominated by men only. She hopes that her own involvement and passion for sherry cask finished whiskies can be an inspiration for other ladies to become more involved in the whisky industry.
John Zois
Ambassador Investor
John has been in China for more than 4 Years where he has worked in the education sector, focussing on adult learning and business communications. John is one of our proud converts - new to whisky, having only really dipped his toes a few years ago but quickly becoming something of an expert.
John is keen to work across his own social networks, creating more converts to the wonders of whisky.
Mark Bentley
Ambassador Investor
Mark migrated to China in 2014 after short spells in Korea and Vietnam. First teaching Business Studies in Beijing before moving to Suzhou where he lives with his family and teaches English and Social Science.
Before teaching Mark was a manager of a U.K. wine and spirit store where he gained knowledge and passion for the industry, including training by the Wine and Spirit Education Trust. He is a familiar face on the Suzhou food and drink scene and regularly hosts wine and whisky pairing dinners. His favourite whisky is from his native Wales but he also enjoys heavily peated Islays. Mark can be contacted on LINKED IN.
Ray Rushton
Ambassador Investor
Originally from Liverpool in the UK and a background as a health care specialist, Ray first came to Asia in 2006 before settling in China in 2013 where he works as an education specialist.
Ray has a passion for Irish whisky and hopes that the patented QRRS stills of Nine Rivers Distillery can achieve the same smoothness as his favourite triple distilled whiskies from Ireland.
Brian O’Donovan
Ambassador Investor
Brian has been involved in the golfing industry for his entire life. After qualifying as a golf professional in 2013 at the University of Birmingham and then becoming a PGA qualified golf professional, Brian relocated to China.
Currently the lead instructor at Mission Hills Golf in Shenzhen, Brian is passionate about most styles of whisky and an active member of the Shenzhen whisky community. Brian can be contacted on LINKED IN.
Jason Will
Ambassador Investor
Originally from Australia, Jason has been based in Asia since 1999 and in China since 2017 with a career spanning more than 2 decades in international relocations and logistics. Jason is currently country manager for an industry leader in this field.
Jason is very much a scotch lover with a passion for all styles. Jason can be contacted on LINKED IN.
Christian Gassner
Ambassador Investor
In his role as the Director and Chair at the European Chamber South China ,he is in charge of factories, producing electronic consumer goods in the highest volume and quality under the Japanese Kaizen principles.
With over 20 years experience in the manufacturing industry, he has a profound knowledge of mechanical engineering production technologies in addition to strong leadership. Christian is a big fan of Islay whiskies. Christian can be contacted on LINKED IN.
Alessandro Alviani
Ambassador Investor
Ale has been in China since 2012 working as the GM of a company that imports sintered stone slabs to China.
Ale joined the Nine Rivers Distillery project due to a lifelong love of whisky. His preferences lean towards peated whiskies.
Uli Gittinger
Ambassador Investor
Uli is originally from Germany, although now based in Ireland. Uli is an Airline Captain and has been flying all over the world for the past 20 years.
With a background both in Aviation and the hospitality sector Uli acquired the taste for whiskies from both behind and in front of the bar.
Simon Jenkinson
Ambassador Investor
Simon arrived in to Shenzhen from the UK back in Mar 2007. Working in the electric linear motion industry for the last 20 years he heads up the worlds largest producer for China.
Simon is a fan of the lighter delicate whiskies of Speyside Japan and Ireland. Simon can be contacted on LINKED IN.
Thomas Zuehlke
Ambassador Investor
Thomas is a C-Level executive with a specialism in retail in Asia, with more than 40 years experience working across Greater China.
Thomas enjoys the sweeter styles of single malt whisky, but often finishes the evening on a good, peated, Islay dram.
Phillip Stout
Ambassador Investor
Phillip comes from Houston but has made Shenzhen his home for the past decade. He's made a career out of his degrees in Chinese studies and education.
Phil is currently completing his doctorate in education at the Chinese University of Hong Kong and has a preference towards newer world, modern styles of whisky.
Dan Agundes
Ambassador Investor
Dan came to China in 2005 to start his own snowboard factory and push the limits of construction and design for skis and snowboards. Currently, he is President of the Snow Sports Division (GP87 Inc) at the Quiver Sports Group.
Dan enjoys whisky of all styles, firmly believing that they all have their place in the world of whisky.
Matt Inwood
Ambassador Investor
Originally from the UK, Matt has been based in China since 2017. Since moving to China, Matt has been teaching PE and is also the Athletic Director at an international school in Shenzhen.
Matt is a big fan of multi-cask maturation Highlands whisky and is eager for us to start on our own multi-cask maturations. Matt can be contacted on LINKED IN.
Morgan Caid
Ambassador Investor
Originally hailing from Florida in the United States, Morgan is a qualified teacher and nurse.
Morgan moved to China in 2019 with her husband and children and is a small business owner and entrepreneur. Morgan's taste in whisky leans towards Irish triple distilled whiskies or a heavily peated Islay.
Kevin Skraban
Ambassador Investor
Kevin has more than 30 years of leadership experience in marketing and communications and is currently based in Washington state in the USA.
Married with three children and soon to be a grandfather, Kevin is a devoted whiskey lover and believes that bourbon is one of the things that has always made America one of the best places in the world to live. Kevin can be contacted on LINKED IN.
Sandy Lennox
Ambassador Investor
Sandy works in the Early Years education sector with a particular interest in second language acquisition. He is currently undertaking a Master's at the University of Birmingham in Bilingualism in Education. He lives in Nanjing with his family and spends his free time rowing boats and drinking tea.
With a traditional upbringing on smokey Islay style whiskies, he has recently been broadening his horizon's and enjoying some new world whiskies.
Tim Kaymak
Ambassador Investor
Tim is from Cambridge, England and a professional in the education industry, in Foshan in Guangdong. A huge fam of heavily peated whiskies.
Tim became a part of Nine Rivers because he wanted to be a part of the provenance of whisky. Being able to actually go to a distillery (as shareholders can) and be hands on in the entire production process of what is bottled and then consumed.
Carlos Gonzalez
Ambassador Investor
Carlos has been in China since 2005 initially working as bridge between China and Mexico (leading the importing and market development for traditional Mexican products such as avocados, tequila and beer) and then later including products from other Latin American countries.
As a whisky lover, Carlos is keen to start developing markets in Latin America for Nine Rivers Distillery products and throughout the hispanic and latin American communities across the world.
Christian Busch
Ambassador Investor
Christian has been in China since 2014. Originally from Germany, Christian works as a senior engineer in the R&D Department of a multinational company that specialises in audio and multimedia hardware.
Christian is well known within the whisky community in China, with his reviews and tasting notes being highly influential to a level where he is colloquially referred to as "Whisky Yoda".
Jozef Macak
Ambassador Investor
Jozef Macak is a teacher and leader with decades of experience in education. He has been head of PE departments at various schools, including The British International School and SUIS Xiamen.
Jozef has been in Xiamen since 2018 where he sneaks in the occasional peated dram between being a father and a competitive long distance runner.
Zia Chaudhary
Ambassador Investor
Zia has been based in south China since 2016 with his wife and their child. With extensive experience in F&B and Hospitality, Zia is keen to utilise his skills and experience to help 9RD.
Sergio Alonso
Ambassador Investor
Founder and partner of SOG design, an architectural studio with more than 15 years experience and offices in Barcelona, Guangzhou, Singapore and Vietnam.
Originally tasked with taking a Birmingham inspired brick masonry vision and making it into an architectural design, Alonso was so impressed with the leadership of Nine Rivers Distillery that he became an investor in the project.
Blair Zachary
Ambassador Investor
A long-time whiskey enthusiast hailing from Ontario, Canada, Blair has spent the last nine years living in Beijing. A former marine biologist and current teaching professional, Blair has recently become part of the growing whiskey networking scene in China.
When it comes to his personal shelf, Blair has a diverse taste and finds space for ryes and bourbons, Japanese, Irish and Scotch styles, as well as multi-cask maturations.