Elusive Brewing has announced the appointment of Ruth Mitchell as managing director.

With full responsibility for the leadership and development of Elusive Brewing’s business, Ruth will play a key role in taking the company forward into its next phase.

With over 12 years of industry experience Ruth has a proven track record of delivering sales growth through sustainable business development. Former roles at Adnams, West Berkshire Brewery and Utopian Brewing have seen her work across many key areas of the industry, enabling her to build a deep and formidable skillset.

Commenting on the appointment, founder Andy Parker said: “I’m absolutely delighted to make this appointment and step down from the role, allowing me to focus on product development and quality.

“Since joining us last year, Ruth has delivered consistent sales growth and demonstrated strong leadership skills whilst increasing our operational efficiency across all areas of the business in her former role of operations director.

“It feels like a natural progression to hand the day to day running of the business over to such an experienced individual and I’m excited to give Ruth the freedom to execute her vision for the brewery’s next phase. We’re also working to put into place an EMI Share Scheme so we can move towards employee ownership.”

Ruth Mitchell added: “I am honoured to have been given the opportunity to shape the future of a business I care a huge amount about. I am incredibly proud of what our small team has achieved over the past few years – we are not afraid to do things our own way and will continue to do so.

“Andy has always said that he doesn’t want Elusive to be big, he wants it to be good, a statement I wholeheartedly agree with and one that I will ensure will continue to be at the heart of our business as we develop.”