Ian Bankier (born 1952) is the chairman of

Celtic Football Club The Celtic Football Club, commonly known as Celtic (), is a Scottish professional association football, football club based in Glasgow, which plays in the Scottish Premiership. The club was founded in 1887 with the purpose of alleviating po ...

and executive chairman of Glenkeir Whiskies Ltd. Bankier began his career as a lawyer before becoming involved with a range of whisky companies culminating in his part ownership of the Whisky Shop chain. He was opposed to Scottish independence during the

2014 Scottish independence referendum A referendum on Scottish independence from the United Kingdom was held in Scotland on 18 September 2014. The referendum question was, "Should Scotland be an independent country?", which voters answered with "Yes" or "No". The "No" side w ...

Career

Bankier was educated at St Aloysius primary school in Glasgow where Bankier said that in primary six his teacher would give them double the homework if Celtic lost and none if they won. Bankier then studied law at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

before becoming a partner in the

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated pop ...

law firm McGrigor Donald. Bankier later became managing director of Burn Stewart Whisky Distillers in 1995 and oversaw the takeover of CL Financial. He became chief executive of the subsequent Whisky company CL World Brands before he later resigned from the company. Bankier is currently executive chairman and part owner of Glenkeir Whiskies which operates the Whisky Shop chain, the UK's largest specialist retailer of whiskies. Bankier bought the business in 2004 with £1.5 million of his own money and in 2010 the business had 15 stores across the UK and an annual revenue of £6 million a year. In 2012 the company had expanded to include 19 stores in the UK.

Football

Bankier initially joined Celtic as a non-executive director in June 2011 before becoming Celtic's 15th chairman in the club's history when he replaced John Reid in October 2011. In an outgoing statement John Reid stated that "Chairman of Celtic is a demanding role but Ian is someone of considerable experience and achievement."

Personal life

Bankier's daughter is Scottish badminton player

Imogen Bankier Imogen Bankier (born 18 November 1987) is a businesswoman and former badminton player from Scotland. After starting playing the sport at the age of 9, Bankier won the national championships at every age level from Under 17 upwards. The highligh ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bankier, Ian Living people Businesspeople from Glasgow Lawyers from Glasgow Celtic F.C. directors and chairmen Chairmen and investors of football clubs in Scotland 1952 births Alumni of the University of Edinburgh