Executive Interview
Executive Interviews
An Interview with
James Whale
Senior Whisky Speciailist
Cask Master
Macey & Sons Cask Master was the first to bring Scottish Whisky Casks as an asset class to Hong Kong for private investors. Cask Master differentiates by being the first to market, the only provider that is also an auction house, acting as a stockist, not just a broker.
Macey & Sons Cask Master began in Hong Kong focused on Chinese contemporary investment grade art and antique silver in 2013 and has developed.
Publish Date:
14 November 2021
Tell us about your background, and what are you most passionate about?
Based in Hong Kong since 1996, actively engaged in various Asia Pacific Sales Management.
He has a good understanding of the spirits value chain having worked on deals with State Owned Enterprises, toured China with Rolls Royce for VIP spirit events and worked on various spirit world records.
Describe a time you had to make a tough decision (e.g. budget cuts, organizational restructuring, market withdrawal, etc.). What did you do and what was the result?
As many of you know, any business with State Owned Enterprises can take a very long time to close. I was expecting three or four months, not a year!
We hunkered down and with prudent spending made it to the finish line.
How would others define your communication style? Do you prefer to be close to your employees or maintain a healthy distance, and why?
Straight forward, keep it simple.
How has the industry been changing in recent years? What do you think are the biggest challenges your industry will face in the next 5 years?
Supply is the greatest challenge for the Whisky industry. There will be more and more unaged releases as has already happened with the Cognac market.
What personality traits make a good leader?
Firstly be honest with yourself. Secondly be honest with all others around you.
What does the future hold for your company?
Looking simply at supply and demand for Scottish Whisky it is hard to see anything going down for the medium term.
Demand is only increasing and since it takes 15 years to make a good Whisky, it takes 15 years for supply to react to demand. This is why Whisky as an asset class outperforms, due to a complete supply demand disconnect.