Damien Wilson named faculty chair for Sonoma State University's wine business programme

By Erin Smith

Published: 13 February, 2015

Dr Damien Wilson has been named as the first head for the newly-created role of the Hamel family faculty chair for the Wine Business Institute at Sonoma State University and is expected to start in August 2015.

Dr. Damien Wilson has been named as the first head for the newly-created role of the Hamel family faculty chair for the Wine Business Institute at Sonoma State University and is expected to start in August 2015.

Wilson said: "It's an incredible move and far and away one of the best opportunities anyone in my field could have been offered."

The new role at the school is backed by a US$3 million grant that was gifted to the business school from Pamela and George Hamel, well established vintners from the area.

"The role is really working as liaison within a framework that already exists at the University. It is a role that will help to oversee the different aspects of the programme as an undergraduate all the way through to the MBA students that go through the programme," said Wilson.

Wilson's role is a five-year renewable appointment and he will be charged with launching new programmes, establishing global partnerships with universities and leading wine businesses and encouraging involvement of current wine business leaders in helping to develop future leaders in the industry.

He said: "The staff and academics are brilliant resources that the University has leveraged within the already existing programme. But the programme needed a dedicated resource that could help build partnerships with other universities and within the network of industry professional and do it on an international scale. The school has already done some incredible research and there are opportunities on that front that could be shared within the global wine trade."

The new role is part of an overall effort for SSU to build a first in class international faculty for the Wine Business Institute that is set to be built later this year. The Wine Business Institute will be part of the overall Wine Business master's programme the school currently offers.

Wilson, who is originally from Australia, has been the director of the Wine Business programmess at the Burgundy School of Business in Dijon, France since 2008.

"With such an excellent opportunity I could not say no, but the timing is not ideal. I am proud of the work that we have done with Wine Business programme at ESC Dijon. I would have loved to stay another two years to really get the programme at a critical mass point, but am confident that the new appointment will be able to continue the great work that was started at the Burgundy School of Business," said Wilson.

As director of the ESC Dijon Wine Business programme Wilson helped to recruit students from over 40 different countries to the programme and expanded the number of programmes of offer. In 2013 the Burgundy School of Business launched the School of Wine & Spirits Business (SWBS), which had an increase of over 30% in student enrolment for the 2014-2015 academic year.

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