Because beer matters
meet the James Clay team
There's no denying that we represent some great beers and beverages, but it's the people behind the brands which make James Clay one of the leading names in beer in the UK.
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Ian Clay - Managing Director After successful years behind the bar of his own pub, visiting brewers on the continent and importing beer for his own establishment, Ian took the step to launch James Clay and grow the company to become the foremost specialist beer distributor in the UK. Ian embarks on regular travels throughout Europe and North America, discovering new beers to introduce to the UK consumer. What gets Ian out of bed? The challenge to see good people enjoy great beers! |
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Andrew Armstrong - Director (Logistics) With over 6 years experience managing busy pub/restaurant that specialised in speciality beers, Andrew has been involved in the expansion of James Clay since 1990. He is responsible for the high reputation the company has for service to its wide customer base. Andrew’s experience is invaluable in the development of distribution logistics and our future plans for specialist beers in the UK.
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Andrew Asquith - Purchasing Manager Andrew joined James Clay in 1992 and has helped with company expansion.He has developed skills in sales logistics ensuring close contact with our increasing customer base. Andrew has also successfully developed our local on-trade business with considerable success with the style bars of Leeds. Twitter: @AndrewAsquith
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In this time, he has revitalised and operated a pub in the English Lake District (including establishing their own award winning brewery), travelled extensively in search of the best in speciality beer and has delivered key-note presentations to organisations such as the American Brewers Guild. Twitter: @Doctor_Beer
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Gary Marsden - General Manager Gary has been with James Clay since 1998 joining as a driver to increase our team to 4. His previous experiences in the industry and distribution has proved invaluable and now, as general manager, looks after a warehouse team of 10. Efficiency and accuracy are his watchwords. |
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Matthew Eyre - National Sales Manager Matt spent his career prior to joining James Clay working within the beer industry, in both Sales and Pub Company Operations for brewers such Scottish & Newcastle and InBev developing both regional and national business. He joined James Clay in 2010 and has responsibility for Distributors, regionally and nationally; some national pub groups and our direct business. |
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Bruce Virgo - Sales Manager (North) Bruce has built a career within the Licensed Trade industry: starting as sales manager with S & N, he moved to Holsten and helped develop the PPL market at a time when there were no imported brands in the UK.Bruce joined James Clay in 2003 to launch Looza Premium Juice in the UK. Building on this success Bruce now supports all our brands at all levels of trade from multiple pub groups to wholesalers, both regional and national. |
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James Clay - Business Development Manager James joined the company in 2009; academically trained as an economist but professionally trained as a craft beer lover. After overseeing a fresh look for the company he is now mainly project based. His projects all have similar goals: to replace mass produced corportate fizz with independent and crafted beers. |
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Ben Hodgkinson - Account Manager Ben joined James Clay in 2011, having spent his early years as a graduate managing a speciality drinks retail outlet in the Morecambe Bay area. With plenty of experience communicating his passion for amazing drinks to his customers, he gets a real buzz out of converting new people to the joy of tasting incredible beer, and conveys a genuine enthusiasm in his approach. Responsible for looking after Direct Delivered customers, Ben is driven in his mission to get those same incredible beers in to the hands of as many people as possible. Twitter: @CptCheerful |
