Finlaysons Wine Roadshow 32

Speaker: Ned Hewitson, General Counsel and General Manager, Regulation at Wine Australia

Speaker: Peter McAtamney, Principal, Wine Business Solutions

Speaker:  Lee McLean, Chief Executive Officer, Australian Grape & Wine

Speaker: Will Taylor, Wine Partner, Finlaysons

Peter is the founding Principal of Wine Business Solutions (WBS), whose sole focus is providing strategic advisory and management consultancy services to the wine industry. To inform best practice advice, WBS produces the only research into what is on wine lists in 6 of the 7 largest markets for imported wine, as well as Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. WBS also benchmarks DtC wine business across Australia, New Zealand and South Africa and compares this information directly with the same questions asked of US wineries. Over 1400 wine business owners and senior managers have attended WBS’ wine business 2-day workshops during its 18 years of operation.

Peter has studied Marketing and Strategy at Columbia University, New York. He has taught Marketing, Strategy, Sales Management and Business Culture as part of the University of Technology, Sydney MBA Program. Peter’s corporate experience includes a managing director role with a public listed wine company during which time he was chairman of Wine Marlborough, sitting on the Marketing Committee for the New Zealand wine industry and being an alternate board member for the NZ Winegrowers Board. His 30 + year career in the wine industry includes 10 years working in global distribution management and global strategy formulation for such well-known brands as Freixenet and Wine Marlborough. He has provided global strategic advice to the Austrian Wine Marketing Board, New Zealand Winegrowers and Wines of South Africa, as well as to many leading State, Provincial and Regional bodies.

Lee brings more than 10 years of in-depth experience in agricultural policy, trade and international relations to Australian Grape & Wine. Lee commenced the role of Chief Executive Officer with Australian Grape & Wine on 16 November 2022, after 5 years in the role of General Manager, Government Relations.

Lee is committed to working with Australia’s world-leading grape growers and winemakers to help drive a positive agenda for the sector in the years to come. Lee is in continual conversation with AG&W members to understand their challenges and opportunities, making sure his team is focusing on the issues that matter most to grape and wine businesses.

Ali Laslett, Director, Communications & Engagement, Australian Grape & Wine, will deliver Lee’s presentation at certain seminars.

Ned is General Counsel and General Manager of Regulation at Wine Australia, having previously held the position of Legal Counsel.

He has responsibility for Wine Australia’s regulatory and market access functions, including oversight of the Label Integrity Program, maintenance of the Register of Geographical Indications and Other Terms and administration of the export controls.

He has a deep and diverse wine industry background, which includes:

working as a cellar hand and undertaking vintages in Hunter Valley, Barossa Valley and McLaren Vale;
working in various domestic and foreign sales, distribution, retail and hospitality roles;
show judging; and
teaching undergraduate students.
Prior to commencing at Wine Australia, Ned worked for over six years in the Finlaysons Wine Group as a wine industry focussed corporate and commercial solicitor.

Ned holds a Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Laws from the University of Adelaide, graduating with First Class Honours; a Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice; a WSET Diploma in Wines; and a Diploma in European Wine Law from the University of Reims Champagne-Ardernne, where he was dux of the class.

Will leads Finlaysons’ Wine Group. His practice has, for over 30 years now, been focused virtually solely on the wine sector. He has extensive experience acting for large and small participants in the wine industry, in relation to mergers and acquisitions, business structures, joint ventures, capital raising, succession planning and their general commercial activities such as entering into supply, processing and distribution contracts and competition and consumer law.

Will has a Bachelor of Economics, Bachelor of Laws and Master of Laws (Companies and Securities) from the University of Adelaide and a Graduate Diploma of Finance and Investment of the Securities Institute of Australia (dux SA Division).

Will acts for wineries all over Australia, large and small, as well as for a number of international wine businesses.  He sits on a number of boards and is Chair of Partners of Finlaysons.