FOUNDER, MR LYAN

The world’s most awarded bartender, Ryan has been in the drinks and hospitality industry for over 20 years. He formed the Mr Lyan world in 2013, with the opening of White Lyan in East London, signalling his intent to do things differently. This led to critical acclaim through his venues and via his cocktails, writing, talks and client work for Mr Lyan Studio, resulting in him being recognised as one of the foremost pioneers in the industry.

NON-EXEC DIRECTOR

Natasha’s expertise is in driving growth through new businesses, ventures and creativity. She co-founded venture and innovation consultancy Bow & Arrow (acquired by Accenture in 2019). A thought leader at a global level, with keynotes at forums such as Web Summit, SXSW and Cannes Lions and she is the Chair of the Drum Design Awards, so she brings both a keen creative and commercial eye to all Mr Lyan Studio projects.

MANAGING DIRECTOR, MR LYAN STUDIO

Bob brings almost 20 years experience spanning innovation, brand strategy, advertising and product management. He's led large agency teams, including for EY and DesignStudio, consulted on strategy and innovation for giants like Google, HSBC and Blackstone and founded and mentored startups. He now manages Mr Lyan Studio and is the key strategic brain on client projects.

MANAGING DIRECTOR, VENUES

Currently blazing a trail launching and managing pioneering bars across the globe, Alex is the driving force behind the venues side of Mr Lyan. His roots are in bartending, where he picked up countless awards including Bartender of the Year at Class bar awards 2018, and he's also a serial entrepreneur, having co-created brands including Porter’s Gin and Whitebox canned cocktails.

VENUES DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR

A 20+ year award winning career in hospitality across Melbourne, Edinburgh and London. Working with Ryan in Edinburgh (2008) he later joined the Mr Lyan team, heading up Dandelyan in 2015, culminating in World's Best Bar in 2018. Chris was part of the project management and creative teams to launch Lyaness (2019) and Seed Library (2022). Most recently, Chris has been working as Director of Food & Beverage at notable hotels (Sea Containers London, One Hundred Shoreditch and QT Melbourne) working across all facets of hotel operations including multiple large scale investment projects.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT LEAD

Shay (she/her) offers over 9 years experience working in NPD within FMCG. Throughout these years Shay has accumulated substantial experience in both product and project management through leading innovative projects in formula, packaging, production and creative.

Shay is an inclusion champion with experience in policy writing, facilitating workshops & managing events. Having spent most of 2023 working on vineyards and hospitality, Shay was able to cultivate her interests and deepen her insights in wine and viticulture.

LEAD CREATIVE

With over 10 years in the drinks industry, from managing world-class venues in Edinburgh, where he demonstrated his skill at bringing unconventional concepts and unusual flavours together to create boundary pushing yet crowd-pleasing drinks. With 5+ years at MLS, Mark uses his creativity and lateral thinking across our projects, ensuring precise and effective executions no matter the location.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT LEAD

With a background in Marketing, Event Management and Graphic Design - her organisational skills, creativity & logistical thinking has ensured the smooth running of all Mr Lyan Studio projects for over 5 years. Keeping internal and external teams in the loop, and bringing a creative eye to our deliverables, whether working for drinks brands, fashion houses, tech companies, or global venues, Phoebe’s got you covered.

PROJECT MANAGER

Strongly passionate in the world of food and drink, Keandra blends her interests with her background in Events and Account Management to seamlessly navigate the intersection of innovation and organization, bringing creative flair and structure to each project. Keandra also manages the social media channels of Mr Lyan Studio, keeping up to date with latest trends and creating compelling content.

CREATIVE

With over 10 years of industry knowledge, Davide is a hospitality all-rounder, with experience covering nonchalant and serene speakeasys to Michelin-standard fine dining, and high-volume cocktail bars. Davide joined the Lyan company in 2019, becoming a team member at Lyaness, where he later rose to the Management team, becoming an integral part of the bar’s outreach and menu development. Testament to this good work came with the award of “World’s Best Bar” at the 2022 Tales of the Cocktails conference, which, of course, was followed by a huge celebration.