Former Suntory Australia Managing Director Ian Atherton has been announced as the new Chief Executive Officer of Spirits Platform.

Atherton officially joined the company on January 1 after a three month break, having finished with Suntory in September 2015, following its global acquisition of Beam Inc and the local merger of the two companies.

Spirits Platform was created in August 2015 by its senior management team with joint venture partners Remy Cointreau and Diego Zamora to support premium, independent brands that exited Suntory Australia following the establishment of Beam Suntory.

“It’s a very nice portfolio to start with and we will probably add more brands from interested international, independent brand owners in the future,” Atherton told drinks bulletin on Thursday.

“We’re a great platform for independent brand owners globally that are looking for a home outside of the multinationals.”

He said Spirits Platform currently has two strategic gaps in its portfolio. “One is in whisky and one is in vodka. They’re future opportunities for us.”

Atherton is supported at Spirits Platform by Finance, IT & Operations Director – David Moore, Sales Director – Adam Trewin and HR /Corporate Planning Director – Marie-Claire Piga.

“We’ve taken over 26 people from Suntory Australia and we’ve got 38 in total,” Atherton said.

“There’s a lot of experience that’s come across into the new Spirits Platform business.”

According to Atherton, Spirits Platform has annual volume of 150,000 nine litre cases and around $34 million in net sales.

He said it has made a very strong start to its 2015-16 financial year, which began in October.

“We’re going to run an October to September financial year, which makes a lot of sense in the spirits industry, because you’re doing the greatest proportion of your business in those three months leading up to summer.”

While trading conditions continue to be challenging for the spirits sector, he believes there are reasons for positivity.

“They’ve been very difficult years since probably 2009, it’s been a tough challenge for everybody,” he said.

“Obviously mainstream brands in particular are finding it quite tough going, as people are becoming more promiscuous across their selection of brands.

“It’s harder to reach your customer and consumer in many respects, but at the same time it should be easier using the internet as a vehicle to really get brands out there to consumers,” said Atherton.