US wine business Willamette Valley Vineyards has appointed Mike Osborn, founder of online retailer Wine.com, as its next CEO.
Osborn (below) replaces the founder of the Oregon-based company, Jim Bernau, who announced in January that he would split the president and CEO positions but retain the former. The appointment is effective immediately.
The newly-appointed head founded Wine.com in 1998 with the website growing to become the “nation’s leading online wine retailer”, according to Willamette Valley.
“As the wine market continues to evolve, we need the added horsepower of a new CEO grounded in the industry’s business side to accelerate our momentum,” said Bernau. “Mike brings visionary leadership, a deep connection to Oregon, and the sales and marketing experience to invigorate our brand with distributors, retailers and restaurants across the country and globally.”
For the 12 months of 2024, publicly traded Willamette Valley reported 1.7% lift in sales, reaching US$39.8m, thanks in part to “an increase in revenue from direct sales”.
Recent data from The Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America showed that in the first three months of this year, wine sales were down by 10.5% in value terms on the corresponding period in 2024.
