The Cabrach Trust was formed in 2011 and is a registered charity. It was set up in response to the need to preserve the cultural heritage of The Cabrach and safeguard its remote community. In 2013, through its generous donors, the Trust acquired the historic Inverharroch Farm and its 170 acres of land and through community asset transfer acquired the Old School and Hall and the Acorn Community Centre. The Trust has developed a community-led regeneration project that will see the development of projects such as a Historic Distillery and a new Heritage Centre on the Trust’s land. The Trusts aims to provide economic and social development opportunities for the Cabrach, creating jobs and attracting new visitors to the area to celebrate and protect the cultural heritage, beautiful landscape and history of the Cabrach.
In 2023, we were asked to help find an inaugural Chair for the Cabrach Distillery. The Cabrach distillery will be operated as a social enterprise, with all profits reinvested in projects that will help to build resilience and long-term sustainability in The Cabrach. The distillery and heritage centre will provide a sustainable income for the activities of the Trust and will serve as an important social hub for a remote dispersed community.
We looked for individuals with demonstrable commercial experience and those who had held senior leadership roles that demonstrated strategic and commercial breadth. Whilst commercial acumen and strategic leadership were important, it was of equally great significance that candidates were passionate and committed to the unique social purpose of the Cabrach Trust and thus aligned themselves with the values of the Trust. Moreover, given the calibre of the existing board and the nature of the organisation, it was very important that candidates could give confidence around their chairing style and potential ambassadorial ability.
Over 130 individuals were approached during the course of the research as both sources and candidates. Nine individuals were shortlisted and Glen Gribbon, who was Marketing Director of Macallan at Edrington was appointed. Glen brings experience working across a wide spectrum of large corporate and high growth SME companies, including serving as a Trustee on the board of the Royal Military Tattoo.