Talk explores what's next for wine leaders

Natural disasters, COVID-19, political upheaval and climate change: wine industry leaders have faced incredible amounts, and the pace of change is not slowing down.

For Dr. Armand Gilinsky, Professor of Wine Business at Sonoma State University, the last several years is forcing wine industry leaders to consider whether they should maintain tradition or pursue innovations.

Gilinsky will present a talk, "Pivoting After a Societal Shock: Leadership Skills to Transform the Global Wine Industry," next week at the Kelowna campus.

Gilinsky has taught strategy and entrepreneurship since 1994, with extensive consulting experience in strategic planning, competitive strategy, and developing business and financial plans. He has authored over 50 published business case studies and several articles on entrepreneurial strategy and socially responsible entrepreneurship, completed six years as the founding editor of the Wine Business Case Research Journal, and received the University Award for Excellence in Scholarship from Sonoma State University in 2013.

Three virtual focus groups with U.S. wine business leaders were conducted in summer and fall 2021 to obtain qualitative data about the state of their businesses, current activities, and needed leadership skills.

Common themes emerging from the focus group transcripts were verified by content analyses of 19 published case studies about wine businesses to formulate four propositions for future researchers to investigate. Lessons for practitioners and business educators are that the next generation of wine business leaders need training in both transactional and transformation leadership skills.

The presentation will take place on Wednesday, May 4, from 10 to 11 a.m. in Room E202 at the Kelowna campus. The talk is free and open to all to attend.