David Vitale is the founder and owner of Starward Whisky, the Melbourne distillery he established in 2007 with a distinctly Australian idea: to create an approachable whisky shaped by Australian red-wine barrels and Melbourne’s famously changeable climate.

Starward has grown into an internationally recognised distillery, named Most Awarded International Distillery at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition in both 2022 and 2024. After fully reacquiring Starward in 2026, David returned to lead the business into its next chapter. That same year, he was inducted into the Australian Distillers Hall of Fame for his contribution to the industry.

A founder, distiller and entrepreneur, David brings a candid perspective on what it takes to build a world whisky brand.

With 20 years of experience in the consumer goods industry, Serena is a seasoned retail and digital commerce professional with extensive expertise in omnichannel strategy, zero-to-one online business development, and consumer market transformation.

As an active practitioner of end-to-end omnichannel retail, she has been at the forefront of evolving consumer behaviors and emerging retail models. Passionate about the intersection of technology, commerce, and consumer insights, Serena continues to explore how digital intelligence and innovative business models are reshaping the future of retail.

Molly Sun is the Co-Founder of WHISKY+ BEIJING and WhiskyENJOY. Over the past ten years, she has been instrumental in promoting whisky culture in China, connecting global brands with the domestic market. She oversees the end-to-end operation of WHISKY+ BEIJING—from exhibitor recruitment, marketing and ticketing to full-scale event execution. Through WhiskyENJOY, a digital media and community platform reaching nearly one million enthusiasts, Molly manages brand PR, event curation, joint bottling and spirits education. Her mission is to inspire a new generation of whisky lovers in China while bridging Chinese whisky with the international industry.

I spent 18 years at Glen Scotia Distillery in Campbeltown, including a decade serving as Master Distiller, initially as the Distillery Manager. During this period, I played a key role in the distillery’s transformation and international rise, coinciding with the resurgence of Campbeltown as one of Scotland’s most respected whisky-producing regions and the renewed appreciation of its distinctive character.

Today, I serve as Master Distiller and Group Whisky Operations Director for the Langjiu Group in Sichuan, China, where I am leading the development of one of the world’s most ambitious whisky projects. With flavour, authenticity and innovation at its heart, the project seeks to establish a distinctive Chinese whisky identity while drawing upon the traditions and craftsmanship of Scotland’s great whisky-making heritage.

Chester Zhi is the Founder of WHISKY+ BEIJING and WhiskyENJOY. He established WHISKY+ BEIJING festival to build a premier direct-to-consumer platform in China, which has grown over eight editions into Asia’s largest whisky festival, attracting over 22,000 visitors (3 days) in 2026. Since founding WhiskyENJOY in 2016, Chester has led over 200 campaigns and tastings for global spirits brands while educating whisky enthusiasts through his offline classes, podcasts, and digital content. He is also the translator of Charles MacLean’s Whiskypedia and Stefan Van Eycken’s Whisky Rising, two highly acclaimed benchmark publications with over 10,000 copies sold in Mainland China.

Andy Shen is the Marketing Director of Laizhou Distillery, China’s largest whisky distillery, home to the country’s largest whisky cask inventory and one of the most advanced whisky production facilities in China. He oversees the brand strategy and marketing of the distillery’s diverse spirits portfolio, including Laizhou Single Malt Whisky, Blender Single Blended Whisky, as well as its gin and vodka brands.

With a strong focus on brand building and consumer insights, Andy has been actively involved in shaping Laizhou’s brand positioning and establishing its presence in China’s rapidly evolving whisky market. In a market historically dominated by Scotch whisky, where established brand heritage, reputation and age statements strongly influence consumer perceptions, Andy has focused on exploring how emerging Chinese whisky brands can build credibility, develop distinctive identities and connect with local consumers. Through these efforts, Laizhou has become an increasingly recognised name in China’s emerging whisky industry.

Passionate about the future of Chinese whisky, Andy is keen to share insights from Laizhou Distillery’s journey, exploring the challenges and opportunities facing new whisky-producing regions and how Chinese whisky can establish its own identity on the global whisky stage.

Paul Warathep Chandeeraj joined International Beverage in the UK in 2012, initially focusing on developing key trade relationships across London. During this time, he discovered a deep passion for whisky, sparking a journey that would shape his career in premium spirits.

After moving to Thailand in 2015, Paul quickly established himself as a leading figure in trade and consumer education across International Beverage’s premium spirits portfolio. His infectious enthusiasm, extensive category knowledge, and engaging, relaxed presentation style led to his appointment in 2016 as International Beverage’s first dedicated Portfolio Brand Ambassador for Asia.

Since then, Paul has travelled extensively throughout the region, sharing his passion for fine spirits with audiences ranging from curious newcomers to seasoned connoisseurs. He has delivered hundreds of masterclasses, industry seminars, and consumer experiences, helping to build appreciation for premium whisky and spirits across Asia.

Paul is the Brand Ambassador for an exceptional portfolio of award-winning brands, including the Scottish single malt whiskies Old Pulteney, Balblair, Speyburn, and anCnoc, as well as Thailand’s acclaimed Prakaan Single Malt Whisky, Phraya Rum and Mekhong Rum.

Global Brand Ambassador of Chichibu Distillery since 2013. Based in Chichibu, Japan, she works closely with the distillery while traveling around the world to share the story and spirit of Chichibu whisky. The career in the whisky and hospitality industry began in Japan in 2002, working as a bartender at hotels and bars. From 2011 to 2013, she worked at the Highlander Inn in Craigellachie, Scotland, gaining valuable experience on both sides of the industry — from hospitality and consumer perspectives to whisky production.

Hailing from a family with hotel background, Samarth took the studying Hospitality Management in Switzerland, Samarth developed an interest in the alco-bev industry, exploring various distillation techniques and diverse flavour profiles. He was particularly intrigued by the impact hospitality has on supporting local communities and highlighting circularity in the region. With the onset of the pandemic and its resulting effect on the hospitality industry, he returned to India and decided to venture into the alco-bev space with his family friend, Ansh Khanna. Having spent a significant part of his life in the Kumaon region of Uttarakhand, Samarth saw an opportunity to combine his strong connection to the local community and the abundant natural resources of the region with his passion for hospitality. With Himmaleh Spirits, Samarth aims to highlight the unique Himalayan botanicals that showcase the terroir and flavours of Uttarakhand, creating products with a visual identity that reflects his deep-rooted link to the Kumaon region and heritage. The Himmaleh Spirits Distillery, established in 2023 within a preserved habitat in Kumaon, Uttarakhand, draws on the area’s abundant resources. The distillery’s spirits trace their origins to a community of harvesters, foragers, and distillers. It currently produces Kumaon & I, India’s first premium provincial dry Gin, that celebrates Kumaon’s unique terroir and rich flavours. Apart from Himmaleh Spirits, Samarth leads Leisure Hotels Group, an experiential luxury resort chain in North India and the and the largest across the state of Uttarakhand. The family also runs a century old sugar mill, LH Sugar Factories.

Ariel Miao is one of the first pioneer marketers in China started building Scotch whisky category in the past 17 years, to crack the challenge of low Scotch penetration in China (<1%), and she has done remarkable works to accelerate the Scotch development and consumer recruitment.

Ariel’s career in whisky started after joining Diageo in 2008. During her first 6 years tenure, she brought in 120+ new malt products to China and started to introduce Scotch whisky as a category when she begun to manage Malts portfolio in 2011.

With her passion and rich experience in whisky, she was promoted to lead the Whisky Category Development in 2016, building Scotch from the top with intensity and scale through key growth derivers like Whisky Summit, Whisky Boutique and Diageo Whisky Academy, to accelerate Diageo’s business expansion,

To support category expansion, the “Whisky Summit” program she led in 2017 engaged over 500 key wholesalers, top medias, internal gurus and whisky enthusiasts. It has been recognized as the landmark event leading the Scotch trend development in China. She also works with top alcohol retailors opening 11x “Whisky Boutiques” to fuel up Diageo Scotch shelf share growth, this contemporary retail space has made Scotch inspirational in recruiting 10K+ HNWIs per year.

She is also a key person in driving Scotch education in category level. “The Journey to Single Malts” program she created in 2011 was the 1st mentoring program in China introducing Scotch malts in category level, more than 1200+ HNWIs attended the experience and it achieved +28% Malts sales growth. In 2016 she launched Diageo Whisky Academy which is a program built by her team from scratch working directly with whisky gurus Charles MacLean and Dave Broom, a 3 levels of whisky learning experience, it’s the 1st consumer paid whisky mentoring program in China. So far DWA has engaged with over 2.6m+ consumers, over 28,000 participants have joined DWA programs physically with 95% positive feedbacks,

She was nominated as the Keeper of the Quaich in 2019.

A global citizen Ansh as travelled far and wide, and, during a Tuscan vacation, Ansh toured a 34th-generation vineyard, one of the world’s oldest, and became intrigued by the art and science behind making world-class wine. A few years later, as a university student in California, he frequently visited Wine Country, giving him his first taste of the burgeoning alco-bev sector. After getting certified in Winemaking and Wine Management while reading every wine book he could get his hands on, Ansh was determined to be a part of the rapidly evolving beverage industry.

During a trip to Japan, he visited several local distilleries and whisky producers, which broadened his perspective, making him realise the sheer abundance of natural resources like barley and juniper already available in India. He saw the opportunity to create products highlighting India’s rich resources and bringing homegrown ingredients into the spotlight. Ansh moved back to India, and after introducing Kamet Single Malt and Jin Jiji with his company Peak Spirits, he was keen to delve deeper into using a hyperlocal approach to spirit production – to showcase a region’s unique terroir, flavours, and aromas. This led him to co-found Himmaleh Spirits along with his childhood friend Samarth Prasad. Drawing on the abundant biodiversity of Uttarakhand’s Kumaon region, the company’s products trace their origins to a local community of farmers, foragers, and harvesters. In 2023, the duo set up the Himmaleh Spirits Distillery in the Himalayan foothills. The Gin micro-distillery currently produces Kumaon & I, India’s first premium provincial Gin that celebrates Kumaon’s unique terroir and rich flavours. With Himmaleh Spirits, Ansh aims to stay true to his farm-to-bottle ethos and consistently craft high-quality artisanal spirits. He is also working to build a unique brand of distillery tourism through experiential tours and tastings to share India’s flavours with the world.

Yongsuck Yoo (Jackey Yoo) is the founder of Whisky Cognac Club, South Korea’s largest and most influential whisky community.

Established in 2007 on Naver, Korea’s leading online portal, Whisky Cognac Club has grown to over 210,000 members as of late 2026, becoming a leading online platform for whisky consumers and enthusiasts in South Korea.

Widely recognized as a pioneer of Korean whisky culture, particularly single malt whisky, Jackey organized Korea’s first Whisky Live Seoul in 2011. From 2013 to 2017, he also organized the Korea’s Best 50 Bars rankings and awards, gaining extensive experience and influence across the whisky, cocktail, and bar industries.

For nearly two decades, Whisky Cognac Club has played a pivotal role in promoting whisky knowledge and culture, especially single malt whisky, throughout South Korea. The community has organized over 1,000 whisky tastings and related eventssince its founding, helping to connect, educate, and inspire generations of whisky enthusiasts.

Through his long-standing leadership and contributions, Jackey has become an influential figure among Korean whisky consumers, enthusiasts, and industry professionals