Mike Saunders
Profile Verified by The Marque
Last Updated: 22 Sep 2026
Chief Operating Officer
Newmarket, GB
Profile Verified by The Marque
Last Updated: 22 Sep 2026
THE MARQUE
In Their Own Right
Biography
Mike Saunders is Chief Operating Officer of Juddmonte Group, one of the leading thoroughbred racing and breeding operations, owned by the late Prince Khalid bin Abdullah and now by his family.
Juddmonte consistently produces top-class horses from its select stallions and 200 broodmares on its stud farms in England, Ireland and the USA and competes at the highest level around the world. He joined the enterprise as Chief Financial Officer before taking on the day-to-day running of the business as COO in 2021.
Mike is a respected leader with extensive international experience in a range of industries, including M&As, stakeholder management and process improvement. His commercial experience includes restructuring, corporate business planning and business development.
Before taking on his leadership roles in bloodstock, Mike held several senior positions in the global spirits industry, most recently as Group Financial Controller at William Grant & Sons during a time of rapid business expansion. In his wide-ranging role, Mike oversaw global reporting, tax and treasury.
Prior to this, Mike was Finance Director of Asia Pacific at Beam Global after successfully heading the strategic review of Asia at Maxxium while serving as Finance Director of the region. In this role, he developed a new structure for the Asia business, which included establishing new entities and routes to market, and was pivotal in driving growth in emerging economies. He joined Maxxium as a Financial Controller for the UK and Ireland before moving to Asia.
He began his career at Price Waterhouse, where he was an Assistant Manager until joining British Airways as an Internal Auditor where he swiftly transitioned into a number of senior Finance roles within the business.
Mike serves as a Trustee on the board of the Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association, is a Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Audit Committee at The 1887 Company Ltd and holds an ACA accreditation issued by the ICAEW.
The Record
Background
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2021 — Present
Chief Operating Officer
Juddmonte Group
Juddmonte is an international thoroughbred horseracing and breeding enterprise founded in 1980 by Prince Khalid bin Abdullah.
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2009 — 2016
Group Financial Controller
William Grant & Sons
William Grant & Sons is a family-owned distiller and distributor that was established in Scotland in 1887. Mike was also Acting Group Finance Director from January to June 2011.
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2009 — 2009
Finance Director Asia Pacific
Beam Global
Beam Suntory, Inc. is an American multinational company that produces alcoholic beverages. It is the third-largest producer of distilled alcohol in the world, after Diageo and Pernod Ricard.
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2006 — 2009
Finance Director SE Asia
Maxxium
Maxxium was a joint venture global distribution vehicle for premium spirits owned by Edrington, Beam Suntory, Remy Cointreau and Vin & Sprit.
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2003 — 2006
Financial Controller UK & Ireland
Maxxium
Maxxium UK was rebranded as Edrington-Beam Suntory UK in 2018.
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1995 — 2002
Financial Controller of Procurement & Business Development
British Airways
British Airways flies to a network of almost 600 destinations globally and is the UK’s largest international airline.
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1990 — 1995
Assistant Manager
PwC
Price Waterhouse Coopers (PwC) is one of the world's leading financial and consultancy firms that offers tax, assurance and advisory solutions to public, private and government clients across all markets.
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2016 — 2021
Chief Financial Officer
Juddmonte Group
Mike started his tenure at Juddmonte Group as Chief Financial Officer before taking on the role of Chief Operating Officer.
Formative Years
Education
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University of Bristol
Economics
1986 — 1989
Areas Of Focus