It seems you all can’t get enough of this feature so here’s the first of round three…
Ainslie Kelly
Business Development Executive
Glasgow, Lanarkshire and Ayrshire
Glasgwegian Ainslie went to Australia for a year where she worked at the Scary Canary in Sydney.
“This was my first hospitality job. It’s a backpackers’ bar and what an introduction to the industry!
“I came back to Scotland in 2015 and moved to Edinburgh for a couple of years and then came back to Glasgow in 2016 and started in finance role at Whyte & Mackay for a year but always knew I didn’t want to work in this role for long. I saw what the BDMs where doing and knew that this is what I wanted to do.
“A secondment came in up channel marketing for 18 months -half on-trade and then retail and specialist. This was a really good grounding for my current role in the on-trade.”
Has the job lived up to her expectations?
‘I’ve been in this role for two years and every day is different. Coming back after Covid when I was furloughed for short time, it’s been really exciting to be working in the trade. A lot more people are staying local rather than city centres and this gives us a lot more ground to cover. And with more staff being recruited there are lots more training opportunities too. This is a part of the job I really love.
What drives Ainslie most?
“I enjoy going out and seeing what opportunities are in the trade and tapping into them
by continuously calling on accounts to help drive business and new distribution.”
“Brand awareness is so very important. Likewise reading trade news on other brands and activations of our competitors.”
Away from the job, Ainslie has been weight training for six years and travels around Scotland trying out different gyms. She also loves experiential cocktail bars and speakeasy bars, with Panda & Sons in Edinburgh being a particular favourite.