(New Zealand Winegrowers Media Release – 28 August 2017)
The inaugural Women in Wine NZ launch event sold out. The first New Zealand Winegrowers’ Women in Wine NZ event, sponsored by Plant and Food Research, drew a capacity crowd with all 165 tickets snapped up. The event took place last week at the ASB Theatre in Blenheim, and marks the official launch of the Women in Wine NZ initiative.
New Zealand Winegrowers is keen to support women in the industry and encourage more to take up roles of leadership and governance, said Jeffrey Clarke, Acting CEO of New Zealand Winegrowers. “This first event is a great way to kick-start Women in Wine NZ. Having such a strong turnout for the first event just goes to show how much our members value the initiative. ”
New Zealand Winegrowers teamed up with three speakers who shared personal accounts of their professional journeys to date:
- Sandra Taylor, CEO, corporate sustainability expert and writer (US)
- Jeni Port, Journalist (Australia)
- Nadia Lim, NZ MasterChef Winner 2011, co-founder of My Food Bag (NZ)
The speakers discussed the challenges they have encountered along their careers and offered insights into how they overcame them. Women in Wine NZ is not just about networking, and is open to anyone involved in the industry – regardless of gender or role, said Mr Clarke. “We are an innovative industry and it is proven that diversity – gender, experience, perspectives and backgrounds – contributes to the development of new ideas. If we want to continue moving forward, initiatives that foster a more diverse and engaged industry will only drive our success.”