With more than 20 years in hospitality, head of Advocacy for Suntory Oceania, John Galiatsatos, embodies the passion, commitment and drive to lead and amplify an industry driven by human connection and story telling.
Photography by Oli Sansom
Where does your passion for the sector come from?
My passion starts with people. Hospitality is a timeless force that brings people together and turns moments into lasting memories. Bars, restaurants, celebrations are where we share our stories, form bonds and mark life’s milestones. In a world that’s increasingly digital, hospitality offers something irreplaceable: real human connection.
But I think my true calling is that I’m a storyteller. When the average person looks at a back bar, they rightly see a wall of bottles of different shapes and liquids. I look beyond the bottle. It carries the legacy of a family, a place and generations of craftsmanship. Whether it’s Japanese whisky, Scottish single malt, or brands such as Jim Beam and Maker’s Mark, we are representing thousands of years of human history.
Leading advocacy, I feel a genuine responsibility to honour those stories and ensure they continue to be told with relevance and integrity. I’m equally passionate about creating space for new voices, particularly those who haven’t always had the opportunity, visibility or confidence to be heard.
Bartending is an extraordinary craft. It requires technical skill, creativity, discipline, emotional intelligence and an instinctive understanding of people. I want the wider world to recognise bartenders not simply as people who serve drinks, but as artists, craftspeople, storytellers and cultural leaders.
Tell us about your current role
I lead advocacy for Suntory Oceania, managing a national team of brand ambassadors and overseeing programs that connect our brands with bartenders, venues and the wider hospitality community.
The role is highly strategic and not just about good vibes. It sits at the intersection of hospitality, brand building, education, culture and commercial growth. Advocacy can be hard to define or quantify, but done well it transforms the way people understand, experience and ultimately choose a brand.
I began my career in hospitality and have spent more than 20 years on the brand side, so I understand the pressures and realities of working behind the bar, and what brands need to grow. That balance allows me to help bartenders navigate the relationship between hospitality and brands in a way that remains authentic, mutually beneficial and commercially meaningful.
The role takes me across Australia and internationally, working with bartenders, venue owners, distillers, global ambassadors and industry leaders. Travel lets me observe different hospitality cultures, bring new thinking back to our market and create connections that can open doors for Australian talent.
“Advocacy has the power to open doors … When you invest in people genuinely, the commercial outcomes follow. Giving back to society is a value we hold core at Suntory.”
Are there any specific events or jobs that got you here?
My career has been shaped less by one moment and more by a series of experiences. Working across different companies and brand portfolios over two decades taught me there is no universal formula. Great advocacy has to be tailored to the brand, the audience, the market and the people you are trying to reach.
My time in global travel retail was another defining chapter, showing me how hospitality, consumer behaviour and bartender culture differ around the world.
Leading Advocacy at Suntory Oceania brought those experiences together on a much larger scale. Relaunching Club Suntory was a particularly significant milestone. It was not simply about reviving a program; it was about creating a modern platform built around education, opportunity, community, inclusion and career development. The Suntory Cup has further allowed us to identify talent, celebrate creativity and give bartenders a platform to be seen.
What excites you about your work?
Watching people grow. There is something incredibly rewarding about seeing someone attend their first training, enter their first competition, tell their story with confidence or receive an opportunity they never imagined possible.
Advocacy has the power to open doors. Sometimes that means helping a bartender build their knowledge or develop a new skill. Sometimes it means giving them a stage, connecting them with a mentor or helping their work reach an international audience.
Its greatest impact begins with trust, emotion and human connection, but those relationships create long-term brand loyalty, stronger venues, more confident bartenders and a healthier industry.
When you invest in people genuinely, the commercial outcomes follow. Giving back to society is a value we hold core at Suntory.
What does the road ahead look like?
In the immediate term, my focus is on growing Club Suntory and the Suntory Cup into the most meaningful bartender development platforms in Australia.
I want them recognised not only for competitions or brand education, but for creating genuine pathways into mentorship, leadership, international exposure and long-term career progression. Inclusivity will remain central to that vision.
I also feel a duty to carry on the legacy of a program started in Australia more than 40 years ago.
Longer term, my ambition is much bigger. I want to help change the way the world sees bartenders. Chefs have become global personalities, cultural authorities and household names. Bartenders deserve the same recognition. They influence flavour, culture, travel and design, yet their contribution is still often underestimated.
My ultimate goal is a global platform that gives bartenders visibility beyond the industry. I would love to help create the first truly global celebrity bartender, a household name whose journey was supported by Suntory. If my legacy is helping bartenders become as recognised and celebrated as the world’s greatest chefs, I will feel I have made a meaningful contribution.