Wines of Great Britain (WineGB) CEO Nicola Bates has stepped down.
Bates joined in 2023, succeeding Simon Thorpe, after serving for nearly two years as director of strategy and external affairs at the Portman Group. She was WineGB’s first female CEO.
“Three years ago, I joined WineGB and kicked off a full consultation process with the membership to understand just what the sector needed,” said Bates. “This was distilled in our Cultivating Success strategy, and its subsequent delivery has seen improvements in our offer and organisational resilience. I’m proud of what has been achieved.”
She added: “This sector has a remarkable strength of collaboration and support for one another, and it’s a real community. I take this as a moment to thank the board and the many members who are part of the association and volunteer to strengthen WineGB and the sector. It will ensure the future successes of UK wines.”
During her tenure, Bates worked with stakeholders across the English and Welsh wine industry to “help drive change for all our members, producers and the industry”, said Charlie Holland, WineGB chair.
“On behalf of WineGB and the board, we thank her for her contributions and the considerable impact she has made,” he added.
The WineGB leadership team will remain in place, which is formed of head of marketing communications Kirsty Rushby, head of partnerships Neil Walker and knowledge manager and company secretary Gillian Jordan, who will work closely alongside the board to ensure that the organisation’s day-to-day activities and key priorities continue.
WineGB remained focused on “delivering its existing strategy, including progressing its export programme, opening up new trade and sales opportunities for English and Welsh wines and vineyards, and helping members achieve sustainable growth and long-term development”, it said.
These priorities would “continue throughout the leadership transition”, it said, adding that further information on longer-term leadership arrangements would be “provided when appropriate”.
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