Program seeks rising stars of Australian wine

It's less than a month until applications for the 2017 Future Leaders program close and assistant Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources and South Australian Senator Anne Ruston is encouraging the rising stars of Australian grape and wine to apply.

"The Australian grape and wine sector contributes more than $40 billion to our national economy through exports, tourism and employment, particularly in our regional areas," she said. "The Future Leaders program is specifically tailored to assist the grape and wine sector build skills in collaboration, innovative thinking, commercial acuity and spirited leadership.

The international and domestic wine markets are highly competitive and that's not going to change. Future Leaders means that the next generation will be ready to capture the opportunities created by increased market access and improved awareness of Australia's premium wines.

The grape and wine sector's professional leadership and development program, Future Leaders is a joint initiative of Australian Vignerons, the Winemakers' Federation of Australia and Wine Australia, and is funded by Wine Australia.

The 91 Future Leaders alumni include winemakers, grapegrowers, viticulturists, business managers and marketers, suppliers and researchers, who have already demonstrated strong leadership and vision required to position Australia as a fine wine leader on the global stage.

2012 alumni Katherine Brown, brand manager at Brown Bros (pictured above), describes the experience as "mind-opening!"

Her fellow alumni Trish Barry, from Mastermind Consulting, notes: "My time on Future Leaders 2012 was truly a life changing experience! I would never have anticipated that I’d grow so much personally and professionally over a short period of time. The theoretical frameworks and their practical applications allowed us to think differently about how we tackle industry challenges and be better leaders. Most importantly though, the friendships we formed with the other participants are ones that we’ll draw upon for the rest of our lives and I see the fellow participants as family – people who I trust and continue to seek counsel from when needed. It’s hard to put into words just what the program involves, as like everything in life, it’s what you put into it that results in great outcomes. It was a privileged to be with an open minded group of people who were supportive, frank at times and open to change."

This year's Future Leaders program will explore new avenues in business, marketing and governance, and will also look at how global economics will shape the future.

Applications are open to all people in the grape and wine sector, including winemakers, grapegrowers, export managers and researchers.

Click here for more information. Applications close March 9, 2017.