By Andy Young
The Yealands Wine Group has today announced the appointment of a new CEO, to replace outgoing boss Jason Judkins.
Following a comprehensive international recruitment process the company’s founder, Peter Yealands, announced that Adrian Garforth MW would be taking the CEO role, commencing immediately.
“It was always going to be a challenge replacing someone of Jason’s calibre, however Adrian brings with him a wealth of international business development experience in addition to his globally recognised wine qualifications,” Yealands said.
Garforth has previously worked in a global wine importation and distribution consultancy capacity for UK restaurants. In addition he has also developed wine education programs and has previously worked with Yealands in Europe on a consultancy basis.
“I am delighted to be working alongside Peter and his team. The scale of their achievements in their short existence is extremely impressive and their philosophy of producing world class wines sustainably is clearly gaining cut through in the market. I am looking forward to the challenge of expanding the distribution network further,” Garforth said.
Although he will spend a lot of time travelling internationally, Garforth will be based at the Yealands commercial office in Auckland. Having been named as a Master of Wine in 1993, Garforth is currently the Institute’s Vice Chairman and will take over as Chairman in 2018.