Irish whiskey distillery Church of Oak has appointed Enda O’Sullivan as its new CEO.
O’Sullivan comes to the role with over two decades of experience in the global drinks industry.
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He most recently worked as vice president of the global spirits division at Mark Anthony Brands International in Dublin, joining the business in 2020.
Prior to that, O’Sullivan spent ten years at Scottish family-owned distiller William Grant & Sons, holding several senior roles.
These positions included managing director for the Latin America region based in Mexico City and global brand director for the Glenfiddich, Grant’s Whisky, and Sailor Jerry Rum brands.
His early career included overseeing the Schweppes portfolio at Asahi Beverages in Australia, and working in sales and marketing with Irish dairy group Ornua, helping to grow the Kerrygold brand in Germany.
Church of Oak is still yet to bring products to market, having focused on the “extensive redevelopment” of its distillery site Ballykelly Mills – a 200-year-old former mill and malthouse in Monasterevin, County Kildare – since it was founded in 2019.
The distillery’s main shareholders are Irish singer-songwriter Paul David Hewson (best known as Bono from the band U2) and businessman Paddy McKillen Snr.
The company has been making its whiskey since 2022, and told Just Drinks that production is now at an “advanced stage”.
Church of Oak declined to confirm when it expects its first products to launch or which markets it plans to target.
While it doesn’t sell any products for now, the business said it was “developing super-premium Irish Whiskey, and has global ambitions”.
Commenting on his appointment, O’Sullivan said: “It is a privilege to be entrusted to work with the team at Church of Oak. I have been so impressed with the depth of care, provenance and innovative thinking that’s going into whiskey making at the distillery.”
O’Sullivan succeeds Garrett Pitcher, who led the company for eight years as managing director.
During his tenure, he oversaw the “design, planning and development phases” of the distillery site Ballykelly Mills, the group said.
Church of Oak told Just Drinks Pitcher was stepping away from the business “to pursue new opportunities”.
Reflecting on O’Sullivan’s appointment, shareholder and former Pernod Ricard executive Richard Burrows added: “Enda has extensive international industry experience. His expertise and leadership will be invaluable as we bring Church of Oak to the next level.”
