Shaw moves as Southcorp plays Boardroom shuffle

Australia’s highest profile winemaker leaves Southcorp

SOUTHCORP is in the news yet again, thanks to a major boardroom reshuffle, that has seen the departure of Philip Shaw, head winemaker, and John Handel, general manager.

At the same time the company created several new roles, including executive general manager, industry and government and executive general manager, viticulture and grape resources.

However, it’s the departure of Shaw, perhaps Australia’s best known winemaker, that has come as a surprise to those outside the company.

According to a spokesperson for Southcorp, Shaw has left the company "at his own request", but during his many appearances over the course of the LIWSF, just a week before the reorganisation, Shaw gave no indication or hint that he was about to leave the company.

And in similar prose, the company also claimed that Handley would "complete his contractual term with the company at the year’s end, having made the decision to return to the United States."

Shaw’s position will be taken over by Peter Taylor, a newly appointed member of the executive committee.  Taylor has been with Southcorp for more than 23 years. 

He will work alongside Stuart McNab who has been appointed to the newly created position of executive general manager, viticulture and grape resources, in which he will assume full responsibility for vineyard management and viticultural practices across the whole Southcorp portfolio, as well as grower relations.

The restructuring comes within months of the appointment of new chief executive officer and managing director John Ballard. 

It is thought to be the beginning of attempts to regain the confidence of the financial community