Ian Bankier is the Chairman of Celtic football club

Celtic F.C.

Celtic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, which currently plays in the Scottish Premier League. The club was established in 1887, and played its first game in 1888. Celtic have won the Scottish League Championship on 42 occasions, most recently in the...

 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.

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

University of Edinburgh

The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...

 before becoming a partner in the Glasgow

Glasgow

Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...

 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.

Football

Bankier initially joined Celtic as a non-executive director in June 2011 before becoming Celtic's 15th chairman in the club's 123 year history when he replaced John Reid in October 2011. After joining the board of directors Bankier stated "As a long-standing supporter of the club, I feel very privileged to be invited not only to join the board of Celtic, but later to become its chairman. I am looking forward to it tremendously and hope that my own contributions to the future success and well-being of this club will be as positive as those of my predecessors." In an outgoing statement John Reid stated that "Chairman of Celtic is a demanding role but Ian is someone of considerable experience and achievement."