Australian Vintage Limited has announced that current Chief Commercial Officer Tom Dusseldorp will replace Craig Garvin as CEO, effective from tomorrow Wednesday 30 April.
Following this, recently reinstated CEO Craig Garvin will be stepping down after having successfully repositioned and stabilised the business after a difficult 2024.
“This is the right time to pass the baton to the next generation of leadership at Australian Vintage,” said the outgoing CEO Craig Garvin. “I came back to the company to support James and the board in setting a clear direction to restore shareholder value. I am very pleased to see our internal succession plan come to life with Tom Dusseldorp appointed as Chief Executive.”
Published in February, Australian Vintage’s half-yearly results revealed a normalised total cash outflow of negative $8 million, an $11 million on the prior reporting period and the businesses’ best performance in four years.
Reflecting on Garvin’s time at the helm, Chairman James Williamson says that “the Board appreciates the transformational leadership that Craig has brought to Australian Vintage over many years.” Williamson was one of four new non-executive directors appointed to the board mid last year.
Williamson continued: “This started with Craig taking the company from a family business to a major player in the Australian wine industry. He returned last year to support the board with a plan to stabilise the company during a difficult 2024 and ensure we had a first-class leadership team in place for the longer term … We are now better positioned as a result of his leadership, including having a clear succession plan in place.”
The incoming CEO Tom Dusseldorp first joined the company in January 2023 as Chief Marketing Officer, bringing with him 15 years of senior executive leadership. Two years later, he stepped into the role of Chief Commercial Officer in January this year where he has been responsible for Australian Vintage’s marketing and brand strategy both within Australia and in key export markets globally.
“On the back of Craig’s leadership over recent months, we now have the opportunity to double down on our work to deliver sustainable positive cash flow through targeted investments in innovation and brands for accelerated revenue growth,” Tom Dusseldorp said.
“Our objective is to manage capital efficiently and improve our ability to invest, manage risk, and respond to opportunities as they arise through cost discipline.”
Prior to joining Australian Vintage, Tom Dusseldorp had gathered broad-reaching marketing and brand experience across a diverse selection of industries, including over a decade at Pernod Ricard both in Sydney and the UK, three years at Noumi where he created powerband MilkLab, three and a half years as Chief Sales and Marketing Officer at Camp Australia, and almost two years experience as director of Marketing and sales at the All G Foods startup.
“It’s very pleasing to have Tom step up as our Chief Executive,” says James Williamson. “Tom joined us in 2022 with strong leadership credentials. His commercial expertise and experience within the business mean he is ideally placed to succeed Craig and provide continuity in our strategy focused on cash flow and targeted growth.
“On behalf of everyone at Australian Vintage, we thank Craig for everything he’s done, including returning to the business to set the company up for success. We wish him well for the future.”
Tom Dusseldorp’s appointment as Chief Executive Officer of Australian Vintage Limited is effective from Wednesday 30 April 2025.
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