New CEO of The Drinks Trust appointed

Industry charity The Drinks Trust has appointed Nicola Burston as its new CEO following the departure of Ross Carter in early October

The Drinks Trust has appointed Nicky Burston as the new head of the charity, which supports those working in the UK’s drinks and hospitality industry, following former CEO Ross Carter resigning in October.

An internal promotion, Burston has been with The Drinks Trust since 2020 and is “thrilled to be given the opportunity to lead the charity into the future”.

From December Burston will take on the role of providing financial assistance, wellbeing services and educational programmes to industry professionals.

The charity said her appointment comes at “a crucial time” and that paramount to her tenure will be “addressing the needs of both current and former industry members facing hardship”.

“It’s great to be able to promote Nicky from within The Drinks Trust to be our new CEO. She brings a wealth of relevant experience that will help stand the charity in good stead for the future and all the challenges that brings,” said Guy Lawrence, chair of the trustees.

With 30 years of experience in the industry, Nicky has worked in a number of roles across the drinks trade from marketing and communications to sales and board strategy.

“There are going to be some tough challenges ahead, but I really look forward to reaching out to partners in the coming weeks to discuss how we can come together to address these challenges and support our colleagues in need,” Burston said.

Her predecessor Carter spent five years at the helm of the charity, steering it through the Covid pandemic, and introducing new services such as the Trust’s Restore offerings as well as its industry training and education arm, called the Develop programme.

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