Jeff Guignard is set to become the CEO of Wine Growers British Columbia (WGBC) as of April 28, the association announced this morning.
Guignard is well known because of his experience speaking with media in his role as executive director at BC’s Alliance of Beverage Licensees (ABLE BC) since April 2014.
He told BIV that he plans to stay living in Vancouver and that he will end his term with ABLE BC on April 25. He plans to make frequent trips to the Okanagan and other areas to meet grape growers, he said.
The move might seem like a natural one for Guignard as he is staying in a role of advocacy within the alcohol sector. As ABLE BC's executive director, he championed the interests of liquor, hospitality, and cannabis retail businesses.
"I'm beyond excited to go into the wine industry," Guignard said. "There are huge challenges at the moment, but generational opportunities. We've kicked out American wines on liquor store shelves all across the province. I want to see B.C. wine on those shelves. I want to see B.C. wines all across Canada. We should be promoting our wine internationally."
He added that he feels that this is the right opportunity at the right time.
"He’s well known for his ability to navigate complex policy issues, build strong relationships with all levels of government, and earn media trust through clear, credible advocacy," the WGBC said in a news release.
"With a proven track record of uniting diverse interest holders and driving meaningful change, Guignard is uniquely positioned to support and strengthen BC’s dynamic and evolving wine industry."
WGBC's chair Paul Sawler said in the release that he is "thrilled" to have Guignard on board.
BIV in October spoke to Sawler about the search for a replacement for the retiring former WGBC CEO Miles Prodan.
"We're not restricting it to people with wine experience," Sawler said at the time."There's a lot of other skills that are required .... like government relations and being able to focus on advocacy efforts."
Being CEO at WGBC is a challenging job because the B.C. wine sector includes grape growers who have a wide range of ideas about what the industry needs.
Regulations for what B.C. wineries can put on wine bottle labels have evolved dramatically in the past decade, and many of the changes involved lively debate among growers.
Much debate in the past couple years centred on whether wineries should be able to import grapes from outside B.C. and still call their wines BC VQA-certified, how the grapes should be identified on labels and whether these wines should be sold in the B.C. sections of stores.
