Casella Wines has announced the appointment of Mark Churi as national sales manager, effective as of this week.
Churi will oversee and lead the domestic sales force and business operations for Australia, which includes managing and growing the portfolio of Casella brands.
Churi has more than 30 years experience working in sales positions within the Australian wine industry at companies including Cheviot Bridge Wine Group, Tucker Seabrook Australia and Mildara Blass Wines. In his previous roles he has been responsible for key account management across the Coles, Woolworths and Aldi groups.
John Casella said Churi joins the business during a strong period of growth in its domestic operations.
"We believe the Australian market continues to present significant opportunities for our brands. Mark has the skills and expertise to build the strategic framework we need in order to grow our business across Australia. I’m confident he will lead us to great success," he said.
Churi added: "I am delighted to be joining the Casella team at such an exciting time of their growth. As one of the wine industry's great success stories, I’m looking forward to working with the team and our customers in developing and executing sales strategies and campaigns to grow the portfolio of both existing, and new brands, in the domestic market."
John Casella acknowledged Ray Ritenis for his role in overseeing Casella's domestic sales team for the past few months. Ritenis started as national business development manager on Monday.