Previously Proof 8’s Head of Product, this move reflects the company’s accelerated growth across the UK, Irish and US markets, as it continues to deliver on its mission to digitise and streamline operations for modern distilleries and bonded warehouses.
Having previously held senior roles at William Grant & Sons and led the development of Proof 8’s platform for the past ten months, Stuart brings deep industry knowledge and operational insight to this critical role. He has been instrumental in new client wins and is ideally positioned to guide Proof 8’s next chapter as it scales further to meet the increasing demand for transparent, customer-first solutions across the spirits sector.
“This is a pivotal time for both Proof 8 and the wider industry,” says Stuart Maxwell, Chief Operating Officer at Proof 8. “Producers and warehousekeepers are under severe pressure to do more with less. They’re looking to scale without losing control of operations, and to prove cask ownership, quality and compliance with zero room for error. Proof 8 was built to solve exactly these kind of challenges and, from what I’ve seen in past ten months, does this better than anyone.
I’m excited to take on this new role and embed our system further in the spirits industry. To work with more and more distilleries and warehouses that are actively looking for smarter ways to operate, run tighter and raise the bar on transparency with innovations like our Digital Deeds.”
The appointment comes amid a wave of new distillery and warehouse partners. These new wins reflect growing international demand for Proof 8’s customer-first system that offers production precision, fully customisable dashboards, real-time cask tracking and blockchain-backed digital ownership records, Digital Deeds.
Where legacy and manual systems are struggling to keep pace, Proof 8 stands out, managing everything from raw ingredients, fermentation and maturation to automated duty reporting and cask management transparency. Its tools such as Recipe Builder, Smart Scheduling, and Real-Time Liquid Summaries allow producers to focus on what matters most, quality and growth.
“Stuart has been central to building the platform that’s now transforming distillery and warehouse operations across the UK, Ireland and US,” said Nim Siriwardana, Co-Founder of Proof 8. “As COO, he’ll ensure we continue to stay close to our customers, challenge outdated systems and raise the standard for digital transparency in the spirits industry.”
With customers now spanning whisky and rum, including craft spirit startups to family-owned heritage brands, Proof 8 is fast becoming the modern default for digital operations in spirits.
