US wine group The Duckhorn Portfolio has named Nihar Bhatt as its next CFO and Jeff Ngo as chief growth officer.
The move sees Bhatt replace Jennifer Fall Jung, who is set to leave the company as she looks “to return to her public company roots”, Duckhorn said today. Meanwhile, Ngo takes the place of Lisa Kislak, who has been the fractional chief marketing officer since last September.
Recently appointed CEO Robert Hanson previously crossed paths with Bhatt (below) at Constellation Brands, where the latter worked for five years until 2021 that included a stint as VP of finance. He then moved to become CFO of Alto Pharmacy and most recently, CFO of TOMS Shoes.
Ngo (below) has left his role as chief commercial officer at US wine business WX Brands to join the Sonoma-Cutrer brand owner. Prior to that, he was VP of marketing for multiple wineries at Jackson Family Wines and held other brand management roles at Gallo, Diamond Foods and Commerce One.
The fresh additions come one month after Duckhorn brought in Tom Flocco and David Klein to join its board of directors.
“As The Duckhorn Portfolio approaches our 50th anniversary next year, we are thrilled to welcome Nihar and Jeff to the executive team to help lead our next phase of growth,” said Hanson. “Having worked with Nihar in the past, I know he brings a proven track record of driving value creation, leading teams, driving change and creating efficient and effective processes.
“Jeff is an inspirational, collaborative leader, team builder and strategic thinker with impressive experience in driving growth within the wine industry.”
In October, the then-listed wine company agreed a full sale to Los Angeles-based private equity group Butterfly Equity.
