English sparkling winery Gusbourne has announced the appointment of its marketing director Jonathan White as its new CEO.
The Kent and West Sussex-based business said White’s appointment followed “a rigorous internal and external search process”.
White, who joined Gusbourne in 2018, had been “instrumental in the careful development and global expansion of the Gusbourne brand” helping to establish “a market-leading cellar door and direct to consumer sales channel”, Gusbourne said.
Prior to joining Gusbourne, White worked for independent wine distributor Armit Wines and wine & spirits merchant Berry Bros & Rudd.
“The board are delighted to appoint Jonathan as CEO,” said Gusbourne’s chairman Jim Ormonde. “In the five-and-a-half years he has worked at Gusbourne, he has shown real passion and commitment to building the brand into one of the UK’s most prestigious wine brands.
“He brings an in-depth knowledge and understanding of the business along with great leadership qualities and significant wine industry experience.”
Following White’s appointment, Mike Paul, who had been interim CEO for the last five months, would resume his role as non-executive director, Gusbourne said.
The company had been seeking to fill the role since Charlie Holland’s departure in September.
Gusbourne has also restructured its senior leadership team, appointing global sales director Simon Bradbury as chief commercial officer. Bradbury would be responsible for direct to consumer, alongside his existing responsibility for trade, corporate and international sales.
Katharine Berry, group chief financial officer, would take on responsibility for vineyard and wine operations alongside her existing remit covering finance, HR and IT.
The winery said both Bradbury and White would join the board as executive directors following satisfactory completion of regulatory due diligence.
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