Summergate Fine Wines appoints new CEO

Summergate Fine Wines has appointed Craig Aldous, the former chairman of the Australian Chamber of Commerce, as its new CEO, replacing Rose Scott, dbHK has learned.

According to company announcement, Aldous took over from Scott last month, and is now leading Australian retail giant Woolworth’s China business, Summergate Fine Wines, with a portfolio of wines from over 60 wineries and 12 countries in the Greater China region.

Aldous will report directly to Steve Donohue, managing director of the Endeavour Drinks Group. 

His predecessor, Scott, will return to Australia later this month after serving two years as Summergate CEO.

In her parting message, she wrote: “The Chinese market is arguably the most disruptive and rapidly changing market globally which presents new challenges almost daily. Leading the transformation of our business, as well as working with such passionate partners has been a career highlight”.

Prior to joining Summergate, Aldous had worked with the Australian Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai since 2012, before being appointed as its chairman in 2016.

He was previously the commercial director for North Asia at Treasury Wine Estates in a region covering Greater China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam and Mongolia.

Prior to that, he spent 10 years as the chief executive officer in China and Vietnam for Australian agribusiness, Elders, directly reporting to the parent company CEO and a subsidiary board of directors.

Aldous first came to China in 1992 on a Griffith University language scholarship and is now fluent in mandarin.