By Andy Young
Paul Evans the CEO of the Winemakers' Federation of Australia (WFA) has resigned to take a corporate role in Melbourne.
The WFA said it plans to announce a replacement for Evans shortly and wished him well in his new venture.
Tony D'Aloisio AM, the president of the WFA board, said: "While we are saddened by Paul’s departure, we fully appreciate that this is an important career move for him and for his family. We thank him for his service to WFA.
"Paul has been CEO of WFA since mid-2012 and during his time the organisation has undertaken a significant body of work to develop and implement a recovery plan to lift profitability for wine businesses. This work has not only attracted the support of national and state industry associations, it has also placed a welcome and unprecedented focus on the sector from government stakeholders.
"Paul has worked tirelessly to develop and implement the WFA’s strategic plan. For example, the Government is now actively considering the key elements of WFA’s plan on WET rebate reform and has committed to acting before the next election."
D'Aloisio also highlighted some of the WFA's key achievements during Evans' tenure, including:
- the important Responsible Winery Initiative;
- the adoption of voluntary pregnancy labels on wine products throughout the sector;
- a voluntary code on commercial behaviours with Australia's largest liquor retailer;
- a direct-to-consumer website for brand owners;
- collaboration with alcohol industry partners on the formation of Alcohol Beverages Australia;
- working with Wine Grape Growers Australia to form the Joint Policy Forum and initiated a whole-of-industry process to progress organisational reform.
Evans will leave the WFA on Friday, 8 April 2016.