Starward unveils new CEO and ‘significant’ investment

Australian whisky distillery Starward has appointed Simon Marton as its new CEO and revealed plans for a multi-million-dollar investment in 2020.

Simon Marton is the new Starward CEO

Marton brings more than 20 years’ experience in the wine and spirits industry to the company, most recently working as global CMO of Treasury Wine Estates.

He succeeds former CEO Andrew Macdonald, who “made the humble decision” to step down as Starward CEO to “make way for a new leader to take Starward to the next level”.

Marton said: “Starward is a brand I have admired for its innovative and unconventional strategy. I’m excited about the opportunity to propel Starward to be the first globally famous Australian whisky brand, especially at such a pivotal time when the Australian spirits category is going from strength to strength both in the domestic and international markets.”

The multi-million-dollar investment, announced at the same time as Marton’s appointment, will go towards “significantly” expanding the distillery’s production capacity in the first half of 2020.

Founder David Vidale said: “It’s hard to believe it was just three years ago we completed our monumental upgrade from Essendon Fields to Port Melbourne.

“Now, we are once again taking a huge leap to meet the rapidly growing, local and global demand for our whiskies – particularly Two-Fold, which has exceeded all of our sales expectations in our first year.”

Commenting on Macdonald’s departure from the company, Vidale added: “Andrew has been instrumental in establishing the platform for Starward’s growth over the last five years. That commitment and leadership positions us today in the best possible place to take our whisky to the world.

“We’re all looking forward to working with Simon to pursue Starward’s potential in Australia and abroad.”