Australia’s biggest wine companies name new CEOs

In a major leadership shake-up, Australia’s two largest global wine companies have each announced new CEOs within 24 hours. The appointments follow years of turbulence for the industry, including pandemic fallout and the collapse of key export markets. At Treasury Wine Estates, Tim Ford will hand over to Sam Fischer, the head of Kirin-owned Lion, at the end of September, while Danny Celoni, most recently the head of Carlton United Breweries (owned by Ashai), is taking the helm at Vinarchy. Both groups have come through very difficult periods over the past five years, first being hit by the global coronavirus pandemic and then having to negotiate the effective closing of China’s export market by Beijing’s imposition of punitive tariffs on Australian wines. They have both undergone enormous structural changes to meet the challenges facing Australia’s wine producers, both by becoming global producers and also by reshaping their businesses at home. At Treasury, Ford transformed the business by rebasing it on a divisional operating model, led by Penfolds. He also triggered the strategic portfolio shift to luxury wine, which included the divestment of the US commercial wine business, followed by the acquisitions of the Frank Family Vineyards and Daou luxury brands, which have revitalised Treasury in the United States. He was also behind the resourcing of wines for the luxury Penfolds range by widening its sourcing to the US, France and China.

Succession

The recently renamed Vinarchy came out of the financial collapse of the former Accolade business, the withdrawal of the owner, the Carlyle Group, an American private equity company, which sold it to a consortium of international investors led by Bain Capital. Following initial merger discussions with Australian Vintage, Australian HoldCo (as Accolade became known) agreed to take over Pernod Ricard’s wine businesses in Australia, New Zealand and Spain and became Vinarchy. The search to find a successor to Ford, following his five years running Treasury, has been underway for a while, the board said. On the announcement of Ford’s departure, Treasury’s shares fell by an initial 5% in Sydney.

Extensive experience

Fischer has spent three years as the CEO of Lion, having previously spent 15 years at Diageo and a similar time at consumer goods giant Colgate-Palmolive. “With over 30 years of global leadership experience, Sam brings proven CEO credentials, exceptional strategic acumen, and deep expertise in alcohol beverages, consumer goods and luxury brand building, accompanied by a strong track record of driving business growth,” Treasury Wine chairman John Mullen said. On its website, Vinarchy said: “Mr Celoni brings more than 25 years of FMCG and global branded beverage experience, having spent 18 years at Diageo across various executive roles throughout the Asia Pacific, and previously serving as CEO of PepsiCo Australia and New Zealand. “He was most recently CEO of Carlton and United Breweries (CUB), part of the Asahi Group, which produces some of the region’s most iconic and loved beverage brands.” He will take over from current Executive Chairman Ben Clarke will become Non-Executive Chairman when Celoni joins the company in August 2025.