Wine Wars - Risk Management in the Wine Industry 2023

Winemaker at Napa Valley, Burgundy and Provence - Diana Snowden Seysses graduated from the Viticulture & Enology program at UC Davis in 2001, then worked in both California and French cellars with Robert Mondavi Winery, Mumm Napa, the Araujo Estate, Château La Fleur de Boüard, Domaine Leflaive and Ramey Wine Cellars. By 2003, Diana had become enologist at Domaine Dujac in Burgundy, and consultant at Domaine de Triennes in Provence; in 2005 she became winemaker at Snowden Vineyards.

Alliance Wine Winemaker & Sustainability Lead/ Environmental Engineering/Sustainable Wine Roundtable Trustee - Marta started her career in the wine industry as a research while doing her PhD in Chemical Engineering and Food Technology. She decided to complete her studies with a Winemaking Certificate at UC Davis, and apply them in the wine industry in production and technical positions in different countries such as Italy, New Zealand, the UK and the USA. She decided to embark on an MBA in Agricultural Business specialising in Sustainability Strategy and Innovation. This new addition to her CV completely changed her career path, which is now mainly focused on the creation of impact strategies in different agricultural sectors such as the wine industry. 

Advisory Member, Natural Capital and Ecosystem Services - PhD Biologist and FCT researcher (Foundation for Science and Technology) at the Research Center for Biodiversity and Genetic Resources (CIBIO-InBIO, University of Porto). She has a scientific career of more than a decade dedicated to work and research projects on the assessment of natural capital and ecosystem services at national and international level. Coordinates the international working group on Ecosystem Services of GEO BON (The Group on Earth Observations Biodiversity Observation Network), and is a collaborator of IPBES (Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services) and SCB (Society for Conservation Biology).

OIV - National inspector at INAO (National Institute of Origin and Quality) - In charge of files relating to environmental themes and climate change : management of working groups and commissions of inquiry of professionals, in relation with the services of French Ministeries, presentation of files to INAO bodies. Before that it was Head of the INAO Office in Bordeaux, in charge of the files presented to the National Committees of the INAO Paris, head of the wine sector at ACOFA, Community Inspectorate and Engineer in charge of reviewing the demarcated areas of the Gironde wine AOCs.

Senior Project Officer at ADVID /CoLAB Vines & Wines - With a degree in Chemistry from the University of Coimbra and a PhD in Molecular Biophysics from the same University, he completed his Masters in Oenology and Viticulture at UTAD, where he worked as a researcher. His research experience included a year of Post-Doc in Italy, and 5 years at UTAD, where he connected with the viticulture sector, and in 2016 he joined the Innovation Platform of Vine and Wine. He is Director of the Sustainability Axis of CoLAB Vines&Wines / ADVID, where he joined in 2019. He has already collaborated in several research projects, within the area of vitiviniculture, which include the valorization of by-products of the wine industry, the evaluation of the efficiency of different measures for adapting vines to summer stress, the development of decision support tools and the dissemination of good practices in the wine sector.

Policy Director Wine and Spirit Trade Association UK (WSTA) - In his tenth year at the WSTA, Simon previously worked for the UK Civil Service, including 10 years at the UK’s Representation to the EU in Brussels where he was responsible for negotiating, amongst others, food safety and agriculture dossiers.  Simon heads up the WSTA's Policy Team and also represents the WSTA internationally.  Simon co-chairs the FIVS Social Sustainability Working Group and is Chairman of the European Federation of Wine and Spirit Importers and Distributors.

Executive Director of ACIBEV - Since 2020, is the executive director of the Portuguese Wine and Spirts Trade Association, having previously been Secretary General since she joined the Sector in 2008. For 15 years she has been the representative of the Portuguese wine companies in their European and international federations, allowing her to work on the main regulatory and political issues that impact the life and daily life of the companies. She is also an expert in the Wine Civil Dialogue Group, a consultative body of the European Commission (DGAGRI). She is a lawyer and before working at ACIBEV she was General Secretary of ANCIA, the National Association of Automobile Inspection Centers. She began her professional career at the Office of the Minister of Education and was Councilwoman of the Municipality of Setubal between 1998 and 2002.

Coordinator of the IVV Legal Office - Degree in Law from the Lisbon Faculty of Law and is Coordinator of the Legal Office at the Instituto da Vinha e do Vinho, I. P. (IVV, I. P.). (IVV, I. P.); she was the Portuguese Delegate at the meetings of the Wine Committee and the Regulation Committee for Spirit Drinks at the European Commission in Brussels. During the Portuguese Presidency of the EU in 2007 she took part in the negotiation of the reform of the Wine CMO, at the level of the European Council's Working Group on Wine and participated, as a trainer, in various training actions on Wine Sector Regulations, which were held with associations and entities related to the wine sector; Representative of the Institute of Vine and Wine in the CNOIV's expert group on Economics and Law.

Chairman of the Board of ANCEVE - With a degree in Law from the University of Coimbra, he began his professional career in 1982, in Port Wine, at the firm C. da Silva. He was Director of Quinta da Aveleda from 1985 to 2006 and member of its Executive Committee, having also been Director of Quinta da Aguieira, founder in 1996 and Vice-President (from 1996 to 2009) of Viniportugal - Interprofessional Association for the Promotion of Portuguese Wines. He is a member of the Consulting Council of the IVV - Instituto da Vinha e do Vinho, since 1996. Chairman of the Board of ANCEVE - Associação Nacional dos Comerciantes e Exportadores de Vinhos e Bebidas Espirituosas, since 1994.

Senior Project Officer do Polo do Dão do CoLAB Vines & Wines - Graduated in Applied Chemistry from the Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade Nova de Lisboa and has a PhD in Food Engineering from the Instituto Superior de Agronomia, Universidade de Lisboa. She has worked in the wine sector since 2005, having held various positions at Global Wines in the areas of Oenology, Quality Management and Food Safety, Research and Development and Operations Management. Since March 2023 he is Senior Project Officer of the Dão Pole of CoLAB Vines & Wines, a partnership between ADVID, Comissão Vitivinícola Regional do Dão, Direcção Regional de Agricultura e Pescas do Centro and Instituto Politécnico de Viseu.

Executive Director at Smart Farm CoLab - Graduated in Genetics and Biotechnology, she holds a Master's degree in Molecular Genetics and a PhD in the same area from the University of Aveiro (Portugal) and the University of Reims Champagne Ardenne (France), under a European consortium between Biocant (Portugal) and these institutions. She was Director of the Science Department at Biome Makers, a start-up specialized in the digitalization of soil microbial communities for sustainable agriculture, being responsible for the coordination of the two laboratories (Spain and USA) and leading a multidisciplinary team. She worked as a Researcher at the Laboratory of Plant Induced Resistance and Bioprotection (RIBP) at the University of Reims Champagne-Ardenne (URCA- France) and at the Genomics Unit at Biocant. Currently, Cátia Pinto is the Executive Director at Smart Farm CoLab, the Collaborative Laboratory for Digital Innovation in Agriculture (SFCOLAB).

UTAD - He is an Associate Professor with Aggregation at the Department of Engineering - School of Sciences and Technology of the University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro (UTAD). Aggregated in Electrical and Computer Engineering at UTAD (2009), PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering at UTAD (2004), Master in Industrial Electronics at the University of Minho (1998), Degree in Electrical Engineering at UTAD (1993). Specialized in sensors and sensor interfaces in CMOS microelectronics, energy harvesting techniques for powering electronic devices in the field, frostless sensor networks, Internet of COisas in the context of agriculture/precision viticulture, artificial intelligence and remote sensing. He is the creator of the mySense IoT platform that incorporates Artificial Intelligence services over data from multiple partners in the area of Digital Agriculture.

Sales & Special Project Manager at EZ Lab Blockchain Solutions - Graduated in International Political and Diplomacy and has always been passionate about the international environment and the ICT software sector. As Manager for EZ Lab he was able to develop and implement his knowledge on multiple projects in the field of Blockchain for Supply Chain Traceability, with a focus on Agrifood and Wine sectors. Taking advantage of its position straddling technical development and customer, he can have a comprehensive view into the needs of the market combined with the potential of blockchain technology.

CEO and Co-founder of WATGRID - Diretor Executivo da Watgrid - Vice-Presidente e Co-Fundador da Sociedade Portuguesa de Óptica (SPOF); Presidente do Comité Territorial Português da Comissão Internacional de Óptica (ICO); Vice-Coordenador da Plataforma Tecnológica de Moldes da Universidade de Aveiro; Perito independente para a Comissão Europeia no Sétimo Programa-Quadro e H2020; Membro do Grupo Nacional de Peritos em Enologia (Portugal); Experiência em Gestão de Inovação, incluindo a norma NP4457; Experiência em avaliação de patentes; Membro do conselho editorial do IET-Optoelectronics, Journal of the European Optical Society Rapid Publications (Springer Nature); Membro do conselho editorial do Journal of the Scientific World Journal; Investigador nos temas de comunicações ópticas e sensores ópticos baseados em fibra óptica. Líder de vários projectos de investigação em colaboração com instituições internacionais e nacionais (públicas e privada

Jornalista, Diretor de Conteúdos na Essência do Vinho - Cronista e provador na Revista de Vinhos. Produtor, repórter e narrador do programa televisivo semanal “A Essência”, produzido pela Revista de Vinhos e emitido na RTP3 e RTP Internacional. Formador nas áreas do vinho e da comunicação. Autor do podcast “Vinho, Palavra a Palavra”. Anteriormente colaborou com diferentes meios: Record, Rádio Festival, Rádio Nova, Jornal Digital e Ideias e Conteúdos (produtora audiovisual de programas como “A Hora de Baco” e “Obra de Arte”). Licenciado em Comunicação Social pela Escola Superior de Jornalismo do Porto. Detentor do WSET3 pela Wine & Spirits Education Trust.

Marketing Director at Sogrape - Graduated in Management at Faculdade de Economia do Porto, consulted with McKinsey & Company in 12 different sectors and 6 different countries. After completing an MBA at London Business School, launched its own start-up in peer-to-peer platform space. In 2018, joined Sogrape with responsibilities over the Strategy function and in 2020 became Head of Marketing of Sogrape’s Portuguese wines including Mateus Rosé, Casa Ferreirinha, Ferreira, Herdade do Peso, Sandeman and Silk & Spice. Passionate for economic development and spreading happiness and well-being.

Board Member Wine Division at The Fladgate Partnership - Luís Sequeira was born in 1970, has a degree, a Masters and a PhD in Management. In 2001 he joined The Fladgate Partnership, one of the leading Groups in the Port wine sector (it owns the brands Taylor's Port, Fonseca Port and Croft Port). Since 2009 he has been a member of the Board of Directors and General Manager of its wine division, and also assumes management functions in the Group's distribution companies, Heritage Wines and Grossão. He has been a Professor at ISG - Instituto Superior de Gestão, in Lisbon since 2012, with several scientific papers published.

Board Member at Global Wines - Began his career in the Amorim Group, in financial coordination of this prestigious holding. He held management and administrative positions in the banking sector. In 2014 he embraced a professional challenge in the GLD group where he took on the role of member of the Board of Directors of Global Wines, a group that owns vineyard properties in Portugal and Brazil and produces wines and sparkling wines. In 2021, he assumed responsibility for 19|90 Premium Wines, the premium wine division of the Global Wines Group, where he also assumes the role of Executive Director.

Marketing Director at Catena Zapata - born in Buenos Aires and began his career in 1999 at LVMH, with Bodegas Chandon S.A., where he spent ten years working in various Marketing, Public Relations and Communications capacities. Then became Regional Reserve Brand PR Manager for DIAGEO Latin America and the Caribbean, contributing with the development of strategies and regional plans targeted to achieve the acknowledgment of DIAGEO’s Reserve Brand portfolio throughout the region. After spending much of his career with multinational companies he joined Ernesto Catena Vineyards, a family owned biodynamic winery. Now he is the head of Marketing and Trade Marketing at Catena Zapata, with a strong focus on sustainability, new trends and consumer communication.

Chief Sustainability Officer at Gonzalez-Byass - 5th generation family member, have been international marketing manager for Gonzalez Byass wines and spirits since 2014.

President of Instituto da Vinha e do Vinho - With a degree in Portuguese Studies from Universidade Católica and an MBA from Universidade Católica Portuguesa, he has held management and executive positions in some of the largest companies in the wine sector, such as Bacalhoa Vinhos de Portugal, Esporão and Companhia das Quintas. He has served on the General Councils of the Viticultural Commission for the Beira Interior Region and Lisbon. He was part of the working group for the second Porter Study on the wine sector in Portugal. He was a non-executive director of ANCEVE and President of the Board of the Lisbon Region Winegrowing Commission. He is currently President of the Instituto Vinha e do Vinho.

President of the Dão Regional Wine Commission - He has a degree in Economics from the University of Porto and a PhD in Agri-food Economics and Policy from the University of Reading (UK). He was senior staff and Director of Services at the Comissão de Coordenação e Desenvolvimento Regional do Norte (CCDRN) from 1976 to 1986, Secretary of State at the Ministry of Agriculture (1986-90), Minister of Agriculture (1990-94), Member of Parliament (1994-2003), Minister of Cities, Planning and Environment (2004), Chairman of the Coordination Commission of the Northern Region (2003-2004), Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Society for the Urban Rehabilitation of the Baixa Portuense-Porto Vivo, SRU (2004-2010) and since 2010, President of the Dão Regional Wine Commission, where he is a winegrower. He is Professor at the Faculty of Economics and Management at the Catholic University-Porto.

President of IPV - PhD. in Health Sciences from the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Salamanca, he has a Master's degree in Nursing Sciences from the Institute of Biomedical Sciences Abel Salazar of the University of Porto, and a degree in Dental Medicine from the Portuguese Catholic University. A lecturer at the School of Health of Viseu since 1991, he was vice-president of the Polytechnic of Viseu from 2009 to 2017. Since 2021 he is President of the IPV.

Mayor of the City Council of Viseu - Degree in Economics from the Faculty of Economics of the University of Coimbra (1978). Economist and association leader, he is currently Mayor of Viseu, a position he holds since October 2021, for PPD/PSD. He is also President of the Intermunicipal Council of CIM Viseu Dão Lafões, in an election by unanimity of his peers and the General Assembly of the Association of Municipalities of the Planalto Beirão Region, representing the Municipality of Viseu.

Manager at The Porto Protocol - She built her path in Sales and Marketing in several countries and industries for over 18 years, always with a passionate and eager mind, a love for brands and a weakness for interpreting them as people! For 3 years, she dedicated herself to a personal project and brand, Marta Pelo Mundo, working as an Executive Coach, Consultant, Trainer, Sustainability Advocate and Speaker. Currently she works at the Porto Protocol Foundation, where the mission is to be an example of collaborative sharing and collective action, an open platform for sharing ideas, solutions, resources for and from companies, people and institutions, mostly spread throughout the world of wine, who have internalized that we are in the midst of a climate emergency where action must be taken now.

CEO at the Dão Regional Wine Commission - With a degree in Marketing Administration and Management with a specialization in Consumption from IPAM and an MBA from IESF, he has been the executive director of the Dão Regional Winegrowing Commission since 2017, having had a professional career connected to companies such as Fuji Film, Super Bock Group, Águas de Carvalhelhos, and New Coffee Company, in addition to his own project in acquisitions, mergers, and evaluations of Companies in Brazil from 2011 to 2016, where, outside of that scope, he developed partnerships with Sogrape and Wine Ventures.

Marketing and Public Relations at the Dão Regional Wine Commission - Master in Tourism Management by the Polytechnic Institute of Viseu, with a thesis on the Motivations of the Tourist for the practice of Nautical Tourism in the Central Region of Portugal. Degree in Management from the Catholic University of Porto. In 2015 she worked in an events company in the city of Viseu, promoter of the São Mateus Fair and in that same year she got to know the world of wines through an internship at the Dão Regional Wine Commission (CVR Dão). Since 2018 she is responsible for the promotion of the Dão Wine Route, as a senior marketing technician at CVR Dão.