It took six months to buy Dauo Vineyards. It success or failure to transform into a brand like Penfolds will be integral to how shareholders judge his tenure.
Late last month, at the prestigious Pebble Beach golf club in California, Treasury Wine Estates’ chief executive finally landedDaou Vineyards, built up as a prestige brand in the Paso Robles region by two brothers, Georges and Daniel Daou. Ford has grand plans to turn Daou into a global brand from its US roots, similar to Treasury’s flagship Penfolds, the famous Australian brand has a history stretching back to 1844.
He accepts there are critics on the sidelines, including Bank of America analyst David Errington who says Treasury’s US business has been going backwards for several years and has a poor track record on investment returns over the past two decades. “I look forward to proving them wrong,” Ford says.
where the brand had its beginnings in 1844. He had a long career with US wine giant Constellation Brands before joining Treasury.Ben Hook, an Adelaide sports journalist who played in that SA Under-19s cricket team three decades ago, remembers Ford as someone who was determined and modest. Ford, who was elevated to Treasury chief in July 2020 just before China slapped punishing tariffs on Australian wine exports, was viewed as a safer pair of hands at the company after a volatile six years when thein 2021 for $434 million. Daou Vineyards is four times the price and its success or failure to transform into a brand like Penfolds will be integral to how shareholders ultimately judge Ford’s tenure.
Georges Daou remembers the fear on one particular day as a rocket detonated on the footpath outside the family home in Beirut, with pieces of shrapnel flying into the house. Georges Daou, speaking from California, says he was initially wary of Treasury Wines because of its sheer size. The Daou brothers scrutinised the company from afar. “We have done extensive due diligence” he says.Ford says they spent the first meeting getting to know each other and building trust. “It was a bit of comparing notes and what we were both trying to achieve,” he adds.
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