Nieuwe Executive Director IMW
Het Instituut van Masters of Wine heeft Penny Richards benoemd als opvolger van Siobhan Turner. Richards heeft ervaring in het leiden van internationale organisaties met vele bekende kopstukken zoals Bill en Melinda Gates, Jimmy Carter and Desmond Tutu. Per 1 mei zal zij aantreden. Het IMW telt nu 301 leden, uiteraard allen Masters of Wine, waaronder twee Nederlanders. Het is nog onbekend wat Turner hierna gaat doen. Tekst persbericht: The Institute of Masters of Wine is delighted to announce that Penny Richards has been appointed Executive Director, replacing Siobhan Turner who leaves at the end of March.
Penny, who was originally a journalist, spent many years working in foreign news at the BBC. Her last role was as the Asia-Pacific Bureau Editor, during which time she was responsible for a team of 60 and the BBC news coverage of half the world’s population.
More recently Penny was Chief Operating Officer for The Elders, a group of independent former world leaders including Archbishop Desmond Tutu, President Jimmy Carter and Kofi Annan, working together for peace and human rights. Before that she was the head of communications and advocacy for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in India. Currently Penny is the Director of Global Advocacy and Research for VSO (Voluntary Service Overseas) based in London.
Penny said, “I am absolutely thrilled to be joining the Institute. I have known of its remarkable reputation for some time, and have always been in awe of its members’ and students’ talent and dedication. I feel privileged to be taking up the Executive Director role, and hope I can help maintain the drive for excellence exemplified by Siobhan and her team. I look forward to meeting as many of the MW community as soon as possible, and especially at the 60th anniversary celebrations if not before.”
Jean-Michel Valette MW, Chairman of the Institute said, “After a very thorough search, we are most pleased to announce that Penny Richards will be joining us as new Executive Director of the Institute. We were very fortunate to have a strong list of highly qualified candidates from both within and without the wine world, and Penny really stood out among them. We are confident she will build on the strong base Siobhan Turner is leaving her and welcome her with great enthusiasm to our fold.
“We would not be in the good position we are in without the nine years of dedicated commitment and tireless efforts of Siobhan Turner and her team. I am sure all of my fellow Members and the wider Master of Wine community join me in offering Siobhan our sincerest thanks and very best wishes for her next ventures.”
Penny Richards will take up the Executive Director role at the Institute as of 1st May 2013.
