Archives: Speakers

After leading a team at Guinness that turned around 20 years of brand decline, and over 10 years consulting in which he helped dozens of founders realise their potential,
Shilen
started Distill Ventures with his Co-founder, Frank Lampen, in 2013.

As the world’s first drinks accelerator, the company helps entrepreneurs scale their business in three ways: providing cash investment, mentoring partners to help them become better business leaders, and tapping into an extensive and experienced network of drinks experts. While Distill Ventures’ approach is unique to each entrepreneur, the goal is always to give founders the tools to make better decisions and fewer mistakes while allowing them to remain fully in control of their business. To date, Distill Ventures has committed in excess of £60 million to more than 15 founder-led drinks brands around the world.

Shilen
’s passions lie in providing start-up entrepreneurs with the guidance and expertise to launch into markets disruptively, and developing the non-alc drinks category. Distill Ventures has played a pivotal role in the acceleration of leading non-alc spirit, Seedlip, and
Shilen
cites his career highlight as meeting Ben Branson back in 2014, after which he helped turn Seedlip into what it is today, while creating an entirely new drinks category.

Niklas Fehrm is the Chief Revenue Officer at Scrive. He has a solid experience with driving change, growth and revenue by creating structure, clear objectives and customer-centric cultures with the opportunity for people to challenge and add value for customers. With Scrive’s deep connections with the world of automotive finance, Niklas has had the pleasure of working with some of the biggest brands in the industry, helping them deliver better service, securely and efficiently. Niklas is a former athlete and coach with a degree in psychology and economics, and is using his theoretical insights and knowledge by turning strategy into sales effectiveness.

Ross is Director of EMEA Operations at Quiktrak, a Bureau Veritas company. He aids lenders to digitalise the process involved in inspecting assets and auditing stock, reporting on dealer behaviour and adapting to varying global and regional market conditions.