Kenji Jesse

Kenji is a consultant in the luxury drinks industry with over 19 years experience advising and activating for Global on-trade brands. His work has taken him to over 70 countries, collaborating with some of the largest Alcohol and bar brands in the World such as Diageo Reserve, Monin and Smirnoff.  With a focus on Luxury, he has run experiential activation’s from London, New York, Tokyo and Moscow for clients including Aston Martin, Bang&Olufsen and Estee Lauder.

His Consultancy, Nomu|Consult, reflects his half Japanese and half British heritage respecting the Japanese Ethos of Kaizen and the British principles of confidence and boldness. He’s used these values to support brands from either behind the scenes such as building their Brand Ambassador strategy or from the stage as a host implementing sensorial masterclasses.

Kenji’s claim to fame is that in 2013, he was asked to facilitate 2 Guinness World Records at a Diageo Europe conference in Barcelona, hosting the “World’s Largest cocktail lesson” (1,774 people) and “The largest number of people simultaneously shaking a cocktail” (1,710 people). Not content with records, he was also the Global Brand Ambassador for Smirnoff, the World’s largest international spirit at the time, and is also the main host for the World’s largest single barstage at Barometer barshow in Ukraine.

Having spent time in Europe, Africa, South America and Asia, the past few years he has focused on the emerging markets of Eastern Europe and Central Asia. He grew and mentored a team of 23 Reserve Brand Ambassadors across a network of 32 distributer markets, building their KPIs and train-the-trainer capability development. 

His favourite drinks vary depending on the company and environment, ranging from a well made Rum Old Fashioned to a classic Vesper to a decadent Sgroppino 

When he’s not at the bar, you can find him in the forest, training for his next Ultra Endurance challenge. Having competed in IronMan triathlon, 100km mountain trail runs and kayak adventures he’s always looking for balance and to challenge himself that little bit harder.