Matt joined the Portman Group as CEO in January 2021. Responsible for providing strategic leadership and developing the organisation’s membership, Matt uses his extensive experience in national and international management and corporate affairs to champion the Portman Group, and to build on its reputation as a strong and independent regulator and a powerful and persuasive voice for alcohol social responsibility. Prior to joining the Portman Group, Matt held senior roles in corporate affairs, including with Microsoft and Betfair, and is a former CEO of the Federation for Industry Sector, Skills and Standards.

Laura is responsible for leading and developing regulatory policy in relation to alcohol marketing issues. She is also responsible for providing the Code Secretariat function to support the Independent Complaints Panel and has oversight of the Advisory Service and Complaints function. Laura is able to provide broader corporate social responsibility advice as well as priority advice from the Advisory Service. Laura has more ten years’ experience of working within regulatory affairs, she has previously worked for Deloitte as a Privacy Consultant and prior to this as a Compliance Officer for the Direct Marketing Association providing advice under their marketing Code of Practice.

Jane started her career in corporate and commercial law, beginning as a lawyer in London before relocating to Jamaica.  Jane moved in‑house to a listed conglomerate where she was responsible for all the legal and company secretarial work spanning many different industries, focusing on corporate and commercial work. She served as trustee and chair of the company’s pension funds and supported the establishment of its charitable foundation, providing assistance to the communities in which the business was operating and to its employees. She lived and worked in Jamaica for twenty-one years, moving back to England to take up a senior European legal and public affairs role at Campari Group, following its acquisition of her former company. She spent eight years in senior regional roles in Campari Group, as a General Counsel and then as a Public Affairs and Sustainability Director. For more than twelve years, her focus was on alcoholic beverage products, particularly spirits. She has participated actively in trade associations in the UK and several European countries and acknowledges that the industry is under pressure from international trade challenges, a changing international health agenda, as well as changing consumer habits.  Her work has consistently underlined that it is vital to demonstrate that the alcohol industry takes responsible consumption and responsible serving seriously, not just through words but through action.  Jane is also a director of Wine GB, which represents the growers and producers in the British wine industry.

A former headteacher and school leader across primary and secondary settings, Rachel has wide experience of both statutory and self-regulatory frameworks. She was an ASA Council member between 2011 and 2018, taking on the role of Senior Independent Director for her final three years. She subsequently sat on the Advertising Advisory Committee, providing a consumer perspective to CAP and BCAP on the broadcast and non-broadcast advertising codes until January 2025. Rachel has extensive experience of complaint handling and review. She is the Independent Assessor for the Financial Ombudsman Service and is appointed by the Secretary of State as an Independent Complaints Assessor for the Department for Transport. She also acts as the Alternative Independent Reviewer for the Advertising Standards Authority. She also acts as a Fitness to Practise and Investigating Committee Chair for several professional regulators.

James Best CBE is Chair of the Committees of Advertising Practice (CAP) and of Credos, the advertising industry-funded thinktank. He was Chair of the Advertising Association 1997-2003, President of the EACA 2003-06, a member of the Advertising Standards Authority Council 2007-11, Vice-Chair of the History of Advertising Trust 2016-24 and is a Fellow of the IPA. In his executive career, he was Chair of BMP DDB from 1990 -2000, during which time it became one of the UK’s most successful and admired agencies, a board director of DDB Worldwide and later Chief Strategy & People Officer, retiring from DDB in 2007. Starting as an account planner at BMP in 1975, James has been in and around advertising for 50 years. He was awarded a CBE for services to the industry in 2025 and the AA’s Mackintosh Medal in 2026.

Graeme McKenzie is a senior marketing and commercial leader with deep roots in the drinks industry. His career has included senior roles with Heineken, HP Bulmer and Britvic, working across brand strategy, innovation, shopper marketing, digital and reputation, followed more recently by leadership roles within retail media at Sainsbury’s Nectar360. Alongside his commercial career, Graeme has a long-standing interest in responsible marketing and the reputation of the drinks industry. He currently serves on the Scotch Whisky Association’s Independent Complaints Panel, which oversees complaints under its responsible marketing Code of Practice. He also spent six years on the Portman Group Independent Complaints Panel, giving him a broad perspective on how the industry balances brand building, commercial growth and responsibility. Graeme also leads the MBA module on managing corporate reputation at Loughborough University, bringing together his experience of brands, consumers, retailers and reputation.

Sarah has headed up The Drinks Business since November 2021, working with writers and drinks regions around the globe to curate the ultimate drinks bible each month. She commissions, edits and writes features, and works closely with the Union Press sales teams on commercial partnerships and opportunities. Sarah has previously edited magazines for a number of high-profile travel brands including Virgin Atlantic, Thomas Cook and easyJet, covering food and drink extensively. She has scuba-dived to retrieve wine from Croatia’s first underwater cellar, shadowed the craft beer sommelier at legendary Copenhagen restaurant NOMA and got hands-on distilling local spirit Feni in Goa.