Santa Rita appoints new CEO

Chile’s Viña Santa Rita winery has announced that former Viña San Pedro executive Javier Bitar Hirmas will replace current CEO Andrés Lavados from 1 August 2024.

Lavados, who has been CEO of the Chilean wine estate since August 2014, announced his departure internally at the end of April.

He will leave the post on 31 July 2024, rounding off his decade-long tenure at the helm of the company.

Bitar, his replacement, will assume his new role starting 1 August, the company announced this week through an essential fact sent by Baltazar Sánchez, chairman of the board of Viña Santa Rita, to the Financial Market Commission.

Bitar has previously served as managing director of Viña Santa Helena, a subsidiary of Viña San Pedro, from 2004 to 2006. He then moved on to become the company’s COO, before taking up the role of chief executive from 2007-2013, during which time he oversaw a merger with the Tarapacá Vina that shaped VSPT Wine Group in 2008.

His experience also includes serving as the former CEO of logistics and supply chain company Sociedad Matriz SAAM SA between 2013 and 2016.

The executive trained as a mathematical civil engineer at the University of Chile, and brings to the new role his extensive experience as a manager and company director in various sectors. The Santa Rita winemaking team was informed of the news this week.

In February, Santa Rita Estates announced the appointment of two new members to its European team. Lucy Ward joined Santa Rita Estates as the head of off-trade sales GB, while Ms. Maria Ines Pina assumed the role of export manager, Continental Europe. The appointments were intended to expand the winery’s footprint in key European markets, the company said at the time.

Santa Rita continues to develop the premium end of its business. In 2023, the producer released the 2020 vintage of its Casa Real icon wine on La Place de Bordeaux for the first time to mark the Chilean Anniversary of Independence.