Meet the Consultant - Kerry Hammond
Hi, I’m Kerry Hammond, a Principal Consultant in the Food & Enterprise Team at SAC Consulting, where I’ve been working for almost a decade.
I grew up in rural Scotland, in the Highlands. While I was not raised on a farm, I was surrounded by them, many of my school friends came from farming families. My parents worked in heritage and tourism and were deeply involved in promoting Gaelic on the mainland. This perspective shaped my outlook early on, giving me a real appreciation for Scotland’s natural capital, whether that’s our amazing world-class food systems, our landscapes, or the stories and culture we share through tourism.
My early career, post-education (psychology and marketing) was dominated by senior roles in the Scottish drinks industry, working my way through roles in distilleries across marketing, sales, and operations. I went on to become Operations Manager, and later Global Brand, Marketing and Sales Manager for Scotland’s largest start-up craft brewery. Over 15 years, I gained a solid understanding of how these industries grow, succeed, and sometimes fail.
I joined SAC Consulting whilst living in Berlin, Germany, where I was working as a Global Brand Manager for a large drinks company. I wanted to bring the experience I had gained around the world, back to Scotland and take what I’d learned to support our businesses and economy. Starting as a Senior Consultant in what used to be known as the Food & Drink team, I spent several years working closely with hundreds of businesses across the country.
No two days ever look the same. I have worked both strategically and hands-on, supporting projects like developing food trails in places such as Mull and the Uists, as well as helping local food groups build long-term growth strategies. I also worked directly with founders of food and drink businesses, on everything from branding and packaging to sales, digital strategy, and routes to market
Alongside my consulting work, my family and I have built and continue to run rural tourism businesses, including a private driver-guiding company offering historical, heritage, clan, and food and drink tours across Scotland, as well as two accommodation businesses. Having that hands-on experience of running businesses myself gives me even more practical perspective that I bring into work with clients.
In 2020, as much of our work understandably moved online, I noticed conversations with clients becoming broader - often touching on leadership, pressure, and work/life balance as well as strategy. This led me to train and certify as a professional coach with the ICF.
For me, consultancy and coaching go hand in hand. Consultancy is about solving problems and delivering outcomes; coaching is about helping people find their own solutions with the right support. Combining the two allows me to offer a more rounded service to clients.
Today, I support businesses across food and drink, tourism, retail, hospitality, accommodation, leisure, recreation and more. Whether it is improving occupancy rates, increasing average spend, refining customer experience, developing leadership skills, improving team cohesion, or strengthening sales and marketing, I tailor my approach to the needs of each business to ensure they are thriving.
A common thread across all my work is the rural economy. Many of my clients are agricultural businesses looking to diversify, or rural enterprises facing challenges like isolation, labour shortages, or infrastructure limitations. I also work with urban businesses that rely on the rural sector. My goal is to help all of them build businesses that are sustainable — commercially, environmentally, and most importantly for the people behind them.
People have always been a big focus for me. I have been an accredited Insights Discovery Practitioner for over 16 years and I’ve continued to build my professional qualifications including, leadership and management, coaching, NLP, mediation, family mediation, neurodivergent coaching and support, and counselling.
Today, I describe myself as a “Triple C” — Consultant, Coach, and Counsellor. I can support the technical side of a business, growth plans, sales, marketing, but also support the development of the people within it. My training as a counsellor has been really helpful when working with clients, who either for themselves, their colleagues, or their children, need help in navigating neurodivergence (Autism, ADHD, Dyslexia etc.).
Alongside my SAC Consulting work, I am also in my fifth year of executive producing Scotland’s Farm Advisory Service’s FAS Sounds podcasts, which includes eight different shows. Alongside this, I stay hands-on and co-create ‘The Agri Culture Podcast’ with host Mary-Jane Lawrie, where we share inspirational stories about people and culture in agriculture, covering everything from diversification and innovation to resilience, overcoming hardship and personal journeys. This is the perfect blend of my own interests, and I love to share it with our listeners.
Over the past ten years, I have seen the rural business landscape change significantly, and I’ve evolved alongside it. What hasn’t changed is my focus: helping people and businesses move forward, one step at a time. That’s what makes the work worthwhile for me.
Kerry Hammond, Principal Consultant, Kerry.Hammond@sac.co.uk
Posted by SAC Consulting on 18/05/2026
