Industry veteran Terry Wheatley has been appointed President of Vintage Wine Estates. Previously Wheatley was Executive Vice-President of Sales and Marketing, a role she has held since the purchase of Canopy Management, the wine company she co-founded in 2008, by Vintage Wine Estates in 2014.
Vintage Wine Estates is a fast-growing, vertically integrated wine company owning iconic winery estates and vineyards and powerful national and international wine brands. Vintage Wine Estates was founded in 2007 by Pat Roney, owner of Girard Winery.
Roney, along with his vintner family partners, purchased Windsor Vineyards, the wine industry’s original direct-to-consumer brand. Girard Vineyards and Windsor Vineyards became the foundation brands of a company with a mission to provide fine wines at every price point, in every way consumers choose to buy them.
“I am delighted to appoint Terry Wheatley to the position of President in recognition of her contributions to the growth and success of Vintage Wine Estates over the past four years,” commented Pat Roney. “Her industry relationships, customer focus, creativity and fearlessness were a spark that took our wine company to the next level.” Pat Roney remains as Chief Executive Officer.
In 2014, Canopy Management, the company Wheatley co-founded, was acquired by Vintage Wine Estates, who sought to add national retail brands, social media expertise, buyer relationships and branding creativity to its portfolio.
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Since the acquisition, Roney and Wheatley have led the company on a rapid round of purchases including B.R. Cohn Winery, Swanson Vineyards, Delectus Winery, Clayhouse Wines, Firesteed Winery, Tamarack Cellars, Buried Cane, Cameron Hughes Wines, Layer Cake, Cherry Pie, IYSK and Splinter Spirits.
Vintage Wine Estates also has relationships with Grounded Wine Company, founded by Josh Phelps, French Blue Wines, founded by Roger Scommegna and Stephanie Rivin and Patricio Gouguenheim of Gouguenheim Wines.
Among her many accomplishments since joining Vintage Wine Estates, Wheatley is perhaps most proud of fostering a culture which champions women in the wine industry and corporate responsibility.
Under her leadership, over 50% of the Executive Leadership team are now female, with many women at Director level and higher. Wheatley created an annual scholarship to the Wine Business MBA program at Sonoma State University to mentor and support the female wine industry leaders of tomorrow.
Finally, Wheatley spearheaded a number of programs that give back to the community, including Angels Share, providing meals to local food banks, Heart of the Vine, assisting victims of the 2017 wine country wildfires and Tough Enough To Wear Pink, helping families facing breast cancer. These projects are supported by sales of Vintage Wine Estates wines and by VWE distributor partners and retailers across the country.
Under the new organization, Wholesale Sales, Exclusive Brands, Direct-to-Consumer, including Tasting Rooms, Wine Clubs, E-Commerce and Telesales, Human Resources, Marketing, Company Communications and Social Media report to Wheatley. Production and Operations, Finance and IT will continue to report directly to the CEO.
SOURCE Vintage Wine Estates
