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Oregon wine boss leaves after 7 months

Wednesday 22 June 2011
by Richard Woodard

Oregon Wine Board boss Jeanette Morgan has quit her post after only seven months in the job, amid reports of growing dissatisfaction among staff at the organisation.

According to local reports, five out of nine staff have left the board since the appointment of Morgan, a Silicon Valley executive with no previous wine industry experience, on 1 November last year.

Following her resignation as executive director of the OWB and the Oregon Winegrowers Association, experienced wine marketing specialists Steve Burns and Stacie Jacob have been appointed to lead both bodies on an interim basis.

Burns and Jacob previously worked together to develop successful marketing campaigns for the Washington Wine Commission.

OWB chairman Sam Tannahill said: ‘This is a critical time for Oregon’s wine industry. We need strong, innovative marketing efforts and a stable, reliable advocacy programme to ensure the Oregon wine industry throughout the entire state continues to prosper.’

Morgan was previously vice president of global governmental affairs at National Semiconductor Corp in California.