Where I serve

The Coopers are one of the ancient livery companies of the City of London, chartered by Henry VII in 1501. I was apprenticed to the Master Cooper in 2011, granted the Freedom of the Company by Servitude in 2016, received the Freedom of the City and was clothed in the Livery in 2019.

The Coopers' approach to leadership is unusual: rather than following a fixed path to the office of Master, the Company appoints a senior liveryman to serve as Warden for two years and then return to the Livery. I served as President of the Coopers' Society, then Under Warden, then Upper Warden. My time as a Warden concluded in June 2026; I remain a Liveryman.

As President of the Society in 2024–25 I set out to put its finances on a growth footing after years of flat income. Subscriptions moved from standing orders to a modern payment platform and ticketing from forms to a proper box office. Subscription income rose by 34% and membership returned to 177; the Company agreed an annual uplift in its grant on the strength of the Society's recruitment work; and income overall grew by 32% in a single year. Five new members joined the Committee, four of whom have already put themselves forward as future Presidents.

Two years is a short time to make change stick, so I moved quickly and worked closely with the Court and the Society. Together we modernised the Company's event, ticketing, payment and membership systems; introduced a Code of Conduct; built an induction programme for new members; and reformed the process for appointing Court members. Those changes are now embedded in how the Company runs.

I co-founded and continue to chair the Coopers' Cask Race, an annual event held in Guildhall Yard that brings livery companies together in friendly competition. Teams roll full-size casks through a timed course in what is part heritage spectacle, part team challenge.

What began as an idea is now part of the civic calendar: 32 teams took part in the 2026 race. The ambition is for the Cask Race to stand alongside events like the Sheep Drive as a recognised fixture of the City year.

Visit caskrace.com ↗

I helped convene the Cask Group — bringing together six livery companies connected to the cask trade for the first time in years. Working with members from across the Group, we have established a governance framework, a shared events calendar, a programme of civic contribution, and a joint Lord Mayor's Show float.

The drinks industry — brewing, distilling, coopering, wine importation, hospitality — is woven through the history of the City of London. The Cask Group gives that shared heritage an institutional voice.

Brewers

Chartered 1438

Coopers

Chartered 1501

Distillers

Chartered 1638

Glass Sellers

Chartered 1664

Innholders

Chartered 1514

Vintners

Chartered 1364

The Ale Conner is one of the country's most ancient offices — historically responsible for testing the quality of ale and beer brewed and sold within the Square Mile. The office is elected each year at Common Hall by the Liverymen of the City, and remains an active and visible piece of civic life.

It is also an office with real work to do: a platform to champion the City's drinks and hospitality trade, working with and through the Cask Group to support the pubs, breweries, distillers and venues that keep the Square Mile thriving.

I was elected at Common Hall on 24 June 2026. I will treat it as a working office: a visible champion for the City's hospitality trade, and a piece of living history put to good use — swapping the gown for the tankard.

Visit the Office of Ale-Conner ↗