Mike Saunders is Chief Operating Officer of Juddmonte Group, one of the leading thoroughbred racing and breeding operations, owned by the late Prince Khalid bin Abdullah and now by his family.
Juddmonte consistently produces top-class horses from its select stallions and 200 broodmares on its stud farms in England, Ireland and the USA and competes at the highest level around the world. He joined the enterprise as Chief Financial Officer before taking on the day-to-day running of the business as COO in 2021.
Mike is a respected leader with extensive international experience in a range of industries, including M&As, stakeholder management and process improvement. His commercial experience includes restructuring, corporate business planning and business development.
Before taking on his leadership roles in bloodstock, Mike held several senior positions in the global spirits industry, most recently as Group Financial Controller at William Grant & Sons during a time of rapid business expansion. In his wide-ranging role, Mike oversaw global reporting, tax and treasury.
Prior to...Mike Saunders is Chief Operating Officer of Juddmonte Group, one of the leading thoroughbred racing and breeding operations, owned by the late Prince Khalid bin Abdullah and now by his family.
Juddmonte consistently produces top-class horses from its select stallions and 200 broodmares on its stud farms in England, Ireland and the USA and competes at the highest level around the world. He joined the enterprise as Chief Financial Officer before taking on the day-to-day running of the business as COO in 2021.
Mike is a respected leader with extensive international experience in a range of industries, including M&As, stakeholder management and process improvement. His commercial experience includes restructuring, corporate business planning and business development.
Before taking on his leadership roles in bloodstock, Mike held several senior positions in the global spirits industry, most recently as Group Financial Controller at William Grant & Sons during a time of rapid business expansion. In his wide-ranging role, Mike oversaw global reporting, tax and treasury.
Prior to this, Mike was Finance Director of Asia Pacific at Beam Global after successfully heading the strategic review of Asia at Maxxium while serving as Finance Director of the region. In this role, he developed a new structure for the Asia business, which included establishing new entities and routes to market, and was pivotal in driving growth in emerging economies. He joined Maxxium as a Financial Controller for the UK and Ireland before moving to Asia.
He began his career at Price Waterhouse, where he was an Assistant Manager until joining British Airways as an Internal Auditor where he swiftly transitioned into a number of senior Finance roles within the business.
Mike serves as a Trustee on the board of the Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association, is a Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Audit Committee at The 1887 Company Ltd and holds an ACA accreditation issued by the ICAEW.READ MOREVIEW LESS
William Grant & Sons is a family-owned distiller and distributor that was established in Scotland in 1887. Mike was also Acting Group Finance Director from January to June 2011.
Beam Suntory, Inc. is an American multinational company that produces alcoholic beverages. It is the third-largest producer of distilled alcohol in the world, after Diageo and Pernod Ricard.
PriceWaterhouseCooper (PwC) is one of the world's leading financial and consultancy firms that offers tax, assurance and advisory solutions to public, private and government clients across all markets.
Non-Executive Director & Chair of the Audit Committee
Feb 2011
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Present
Glasgow, UK
Based in Glasgow, The 1887 Company Ltd is part of The Edrington Group, a global spirits company. 1887 produces and distributes iconic Scotch whiskies such as The Macallan, Highland Park, The Glenrothes and The Famous Grouse.
The ACA is the Chartered Accountant qualification issued by the ICAEW, one of the leading development programmes for finance professionals around the world.
Established in 1917, The Thoroughbred Breeders' Association (TBA) is dedicated to the long-term future of the British Thoroughbred. Committed to breed improvement, the TBA safeguards health and welfare, provides training, and encourages diversity within the breed.
