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Accolade CEO quits
Two of Australia’s major wine groups are looking for new chief executives. Ron Emler investigates.
Robert Foye, the head of Accolade has decided to return to his native United States after four-and-a-half years in the hot seat.
Meanwhile, Australian Vintage is looking for its fourth chief executive this year following the sacking in the spring of Craig Garvin for a” serious error of misjudgement.”
Garvin was replaced as a temporary measure by long-serving AV board member Peter Perrin who has since been forced to step down because of ill health.
Succession
He was succeeded earlier this month by hedge fund manager James Williamson, who says he hopes to be out of the job within three months when he finds a permanent replacement to steer AV down its newly-defined path to recovery.
Accolade’s staff were informed of Foye’s departure on Thursday. Ben Clarke, the company’s chairman since April, will take over the executive role and “will lead the business through the next phase of its evolution”.
Accolade, which was taken over by a private equity consortium led by Bain Capital in the spring, is acquiring Pernod Ricard’s wine portfolio. That deal is expected to complete next spring.
The sale will combine Pernod Ricard’s wine brands in Australia, New Zealand and Spain – Jacob’s Creek Orlando, St Hugo and Campo Viejo – with Accolade’s portfolio, which includes Hardys, Grant Burge, Banrock Station, St Hallett and Petaluma.
Revert
It is widely expected that Clarke will oversee the combination of the portfolios and then revert to chairing the group once a chief executive is appointed by the new owners.
Accolade told staff: “With the Pernod Ricard Wines merger announced, Robert has decided that now is an appropriate time to focus on the next stage of his career and to relocate permanently back to Texas to spend more time with his family.”
Previously Foye was a key player in helping to drive Treasury Wine Estates’ aggressive build-up of its China business before the Beijing imposed punishing tariffs on Australian wines. He worked in China for eight years, and then joined Treasury’s main rival Accolade.
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