Advisory Board

The BWA Advisory Board

The BWA operates on an Advisory Board basis. The officials and Advisory Board members are appointed at the AGM in June and are drawn from the existing membership. The Chairman shall hold office on a rolling annual basis with the position being reviewed annually at the Annual General Meeting. The immediate Past Chairman, on retiral, shall continue as a member of the Advisory Board ex officio for 1 further year. The Secretary and Treasurer shall be elected at the AGM from year to year and the 2 offices can be combined and held by 1 person. 

Any member wishing to become an Advisory Board member should contact the secretary in writing at secretary@thebwa.com at least 14 days prior to the AGM which is typically held during the first 2 weeks in June.

The current Advisory Board members are listed below:

Meet our advisory board Members

Clive Brady
-
BWA Chairman

Experienced Indirect Tax professional with a demonstrated history of working in the logistics and supply chain industry. Specialising in the taxes of VAT, Customs and Excise. Proven track record of providing sound technical guidance and consultancy within the Customs and Excise arena and on all HMRC related matters. Experienced in delivering, Customs and Excise regimes awareness training, HMRC applications support and submissions along with securing AEO accredited status and reaccreditation. Clive has been a committee member of The BWA since 2010 and our Chairman since July 2018. An accountant by profession, Clive has been an indirect tax practitioner since April 2003 and until December 2023 he was head of Indirect Tax at Wincanton PLC. Since stepping away from Wincanton this is allowing him to devote more time to the Association with the intention of creating a real step change in our development and progress. Clive is also Managing partner at The eTrade Advisory Group Ltd (eTAG).

Carol Kunderan
-
Edrington

I am currently Head of Customs & Excise with Edrington an international premium spirit drinks company. I have over 25 years' experience in Customs, Excise and international Trade. Previous to taking up my role in Edrington I worked for HMRC and formally HMCE.
I specialised in excise regimes, working within Excise Review & Appeals and also worked as a technical adviser providing advice on Customs, Excise and International Trade matters.

David Gribbin
-
Russell Group

I am currently Group HMRC Compliance Manager & Business Support for the Russell Group (comprising of both John G Russell (Transport) Ltd and Carntyne Transport). I have over 25 years’ experience in Customs, Excise warehousing, with particular focus on the spirits industry for both Home Trade and Exportation and have a good Customer Relationship understanding. I have worked at John G Russell (Transport) Ltd since 1990, being involved in the day-to-day operation, through to Warehouse Administration Manager and since 2020 in my current role which has allowed me to understand and get involved further in the intricacy of the Logistics Services the Group are involved in, from Bonded and General Warehousing through to Road and Rail Transport. On a personal level, I am married with two sons and enjoy supporting Hamilton Academicals F.C., so not all fun. I am honoured to be part of the BWA Committee and after many years of being a member and benefiting from the support it provides, look forward to giving something back to its growing membership.

Brian Davis
-
LCB

Brian, born in London, has been part of the trade for over 50 years starting in Tooley Street in London in the early 1970’s.
He joined the LCB team 27 years ago and is very proud of the company and its position in the trade as the leading bonded facility in the UK.
Brian takes great pride in supporting both LCB clients and the wider trade in trying to understand the mystical world of our dear friends in HM Revenue & Customs.
He also works closely with HMRC and other trade associations in trying to educate Customs on the effects of the changes they make in policies and procedures on the trade. Brian has gained respect in the trade as someone who “wants to make a difference” and is keen to work with the BWA Advisory Board to make positive changes for the membership.

Barbara Russell-Scott
-
Young Spirits Co Ltd

I currently serve as the Managing Director at Young Spirits Co Ltd, bringing over 25 years of extensive experience in international trade, operations, and customer service. In my role I have leadership responsibility for all aspects of the business, including bulk and branded operations, warehousing, logistics and bottling.
At Young Spirits, I have supported the organisation’s achievement of carbon-neutral certification and I champion sustainable sourcing and solutions for our business and our client’s.
I previously worked as Head of Supply Chain at International Beverage and, with a robust knowledge of customs and excise compliance, led the business to achieve AEO accreditation.
I am committed to diversity and inclusion and fostering a supportive and thriving work environment. My aim is to ensure excellence and innovation within the spirits industry.

Howard Marsh
-
Descartes

My career in the Freight Industry started straight from school, by joining a well-established Freight Forwarder in Southampton. I previously worked for Ordnance Survey, and then joined one of the UK Community System Providers (CSP's), CNS Ltd. In 2001, I moved into the customs software industry, joining e-customs Ltd where I was heavily involved in new business developments, client relationship and system support. After their acquisition by Descartes Systems in 2014, I became part of the Descartes Global sales team. Today my primary role is a Sales and Customer Success Manager for the UK customs solutions. In the past I have sat on various HMRC and Trade liaison groups as a trade representative. Outside of work, I am the current Chair of the Churches Together in Totton and Forest Edge (CTTFE). One of my greatest honours was being asked to ‘bring to life’ Jesus Christ in the ‘Mark Drama’ a 90-minute non-stop drama adaptation of the Mark Gospel. I have been married for over 30 years to a wonderful lady, who is a supportive friend, mother, and wife. We have an awesome son, a beautiful daughter in law and an amazing daughter.

Honorary Members

Michael Pepper – Past Chairman

Elaine MacDonald – Past Chairman

Cathie Thomson – Past Chairman

Graham Hough – Past Chairman

Jim Carberry – Past BWA Committee Member

Michelle Sloane – RPC

Michael Archibald – Past BWA Auditor

BWA Secretary

Graham Sheen is the BWA Company Secretary, appointed in May 2019.

His BWA role is to facilitate the day-to-day running of The BWA’s events, meetings, online presence, member recruitment, engagement and retention.

Graham has a strong background in logistics and warehousing, and is very well connected within the warehousing and supply chain sectors.

He previously worked for The Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport, for over 14 years, holding roles in warehouse/supply chain benchmarking, corporate account management and business development.

Graham has also worked within the Ministry of Justice and held roles with RS Components, The Chartered Management Institute.

Linkedin

RPC

Michelle Sloane

Honorary members and legal advisers to the BWA. 

Michelle Sloane, Partner

Tax Investigations and Litigation, HM Revenue and Customs

Partner in Tax, VAT and Regulatory Team. Michelle specialises in taxation, with expertise in both direct and indirect contentious and non-contentious tax matters. Michelle advises individuals and corporates on complex tax enquiries, unforeseen tax, VAT, customs and excise duty issues and assessments, as well as the enforcement powers of HMRC. Michelle handles complex and high value Appeals at all levels from the Tax Tribunal to the Supreme Court and European Court of Justice. She also has experience in the conduct of Judicial Review proceedings scrutinising HMRC’s conduct. Michelle also advises clients facing HMRC criminal investigations and prosecution including interviews under caution and HMRC dawn raids.

Before moving to the UK and joining RPC, Michelle worked for the New Zealand Government as a tax investigator and legal advisor to the tax investigations team. This has given her insight into the workings and decision-making processes of revenue authorities. Michelle has been involved in a variety of tax investigations including those conducted on large corporate enterprises, high net worth individuals and small to medium enterprises, with a particular focus on tax avoidance arrangements.

Dual-qualified lawyer: New Zealand (2004) and England & Wales (2007)

Memberships: Customs Practitioners Group and current Council Member.

Michelle.Sloane@rpc.co.uk