Sponsored article: Celebrating influential women across the drinks industry
Kirsty McLeod
Business Development Manager with Star Pubs
Kirsty McLeod has had a varied career spanning many different areas of the pub industry. She started out working in pubs whilst at college and then pursued a career in retail working for high street brands, such as Tommy Hilfiger, before joining Heineken UK 10 years ago.
Since then, Kirsty has undertaken roles in off trade sales, on trade sales serving free trade pubs and in Star Pubs’ real estate department. She became a Business Development Manager with Star Pubs overseeing 30 pubs in the Central Belt of Scotland in January 2024.
Why is International Women’s Day important?
It’s a great opportunity to celebrate the progress that has been made in gender equality and the achievements of other women as well as to create awareness of the work that still needs to be done.
Did female role models help you progress in in your career?
I’ve been helped by both female and male colleagues who’ve supported my growth and development. In Scotland, for example, the operations director Matt Dyson is a great champion of women in the pub industry.
More generally, since I joined Heineken 10 years ago, it’s been inspiring to see to a big increase in the number of women working in all areas of the sector and attaining senior management and board positions. There’s now a clear and established career path for women who want to progress to the highest levels.
How do you support women in the pub industry through your work?
I think that just being a female BDM helps support other women. When I’m out in trade, female members of bar staff will comment on how they didn’t realise that roles like this existed and that they’re pleased to see women filling them. It opens up possibilities for them and they see they could go down another avenue.
In addition, female licensees will say it’s nice to work alongside another woman. They will also turn to me for emotional support as well, perhaps feeling more comfortable talking with another woman about personal issues they’re facing than they might with a man.
In terms of recruitment, I always try to ensure I have a diverse range of candidates for any licensee positions that are available. I recently ran a Women in Business event to encourage female talent in other sectors to consider a career in pubs. Attendees were simply not aware of the opportunities the pub trade offers. They could see there’s a route to more senior roles and it sparked their interest. Hopefully it will result in more women entering the sector.
Does the pub industry offer good career opportunities for women?
Quite simply, yes. I fell in love with the industry working in parttime in pubs when I was at college. I joined Heineken in 2014 in an admin role in the release estate department and I’ve not looked back.
It doesn’t matter what job you’re in, there are opportunities. You can’t wait for them to come to you though, you have to go out and work for them.
Within Star Pubs there are now women in senior management roles and on the board, and in my region around half of the pubs are headed up by women.
Could anything more be done to accelerate women’s equality in the pub industry?
Firstly, we need to shout about the success of women regularly throughout the year, not just on International Women’s Day. More women’s groups across the licensed trade would be a good starting point – they’re great for sharing experiences, networking and showcasing top achievers as speakers.
Secondly, we should continue to nurture female talent. I’ve never felt held back but I’ve met women in the industry who have. I’d like to see women’s equality championed more widely across the pub trade, as it is within Heineken.
It must be embedded in a company’s culture and come from the top down with leaders and line managers ensuring they’re actively encouraging diversity and inclusion for all – including women – and making clear that behaviours that don’t are not acceptable.
