Bladnoch Distillery has named former Edrington executive Glen Gribbon as CEO, with owner David Prior stepping away from “day-to-day operations”.

The move comes as the Scotch distiller, bought by Prior in 2015, looks to “accelerate” its growth.

Gribbon spent more than a decade at Edrington. He joined the business in 2012, working for two years as director of the distiller’s The Famous Grouse brand.

In August 2014, he was named director of Edrington’s blended Scotch business. After just over 18 months in that role, Gribbon moved to become the marketing director for The Macallan.

Gribbon said: “What David has achieved since buying the distillery is incredible – the definition of brave – and it gives the new team an excellent foundation to build on.”

Gribbon joins a senior team that includes former Rémy Cointreau executive Jonathan Owen, who joined the company as commercial director for EMEA and Americas in February.

Last month, the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) reported a drop in export volumes in the first half of 2023.

The industry saw volumes decline by 20% to the equivalent of 630m 70cl bottles, according to HMRC data analysed by the SWA. Volumes were led by demand from France, India and the US.

It followed a bumper year in 2022 as exports bounced back from a pandemic-led slump.

Export value was down 3.6% at £2.57bn ($3.23bn), a smaller decrease that the SWA put down to consumers trading up.

SWA chief executive Mark Kent said the results were “encouraging”.

He added: “2022 was an exceptional year for Scotch Whisky exports, breaking records in both value and volume. So, at the halfway point of 2023, it is encouraging that the industry is keeping pace with export value.”