Presidential Council

Table of Contents

 
President
 

James P. Finkle

Mr. Finkle is Senior Vice President, External Affairs for Constellation Brands, Inc. (formerly Canandaigua Brands, Inc., parent company of Canandaigua Wine Company, Inc.). He started with Canandaigua Wine Company in 1973 as Director of Grower Relations and in 1980 became Vice President/Director of Grower Relations.

Mr. Finkle currently is on the Executive Committee of the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States and serves on the Boards of Directors of the Wine Institute, Wine America, and the Associated New York State Food Processors. Mr. Finkle is also Vice-President of the Congressional Wine Foundation. He also serves on the US Department of Agriculture’s Technical Advisory Committee for Trade.

He has served as a Chairman in several other capacities, including for the following organizations: the Eastern Section of the American Society of Oenology and Viticulture, the New York State Wine and Grape Foundation and the American Vintner's Association (now, Wine America). He formerly served as the President of the Finger Lakes Wine Growers Association and as the Secretary of the New York State Wine Producers Association. He is a member of the American Society of Horticultural Science, the American Society of Oenology and Viticulture, the Canadian Society of Oenology, the New York State Horticultural Society and Sigma Tau Epsilon. Mr. Finkle was also Vineyard Manager for Niagara Falls Wine Cellars.

Mr. Finkle received his Bachelor of Science Degree from Cornell University in 1971 and his Masters of Science Degree also from Cornell University in 1980. Both degrees were in Viticulture and Agricultural Economics.

 
Vice-Presidents
 

Jean-Jacques Delhaye

Jean-Jacques Delhaye is Secretary General of the Belgian Federation of Wines and Spirits, a position he has held since 1995. He also has other functions and responsibilities, including:

- Secretary General of the ATHENA (previously the Forum for the education of taste) since 1994. The purpose of this association is to promote the moderate consumption of drinks containing alcohol.

- Director of the European Federation of Wine and Spirit Importers & Distributors (EFWSID) since June 2005.

- Member of the CEPS Board of Directors, (the European Confederation of Spirits Producers) where he has held the post of Treasurer.

- Delegate to the FEDIS (the Federation of the Belgian Distribution Companies), since 1995.

- Trade Expert to the European Commission (Eurocommerce), Viticulture Consultative Committee and Consultative Committee for spirituous drinks since 1994.

- Director to the Board of the FOST Plus Association for the management of the environment since 1996.

- President of the administrative procedures FILGLASS since 2000.

- Founder of Belgian Controlled Appellations (Geographical Indications) where he assumed the post of secretary to the Commissions of Recognitions since 1998.

Jean-Jacques Delhaye is by training a biochemist, with a masters degree in microbiology. He has specialised over the course of his career in beverage industries employing fermentation techniques. Earlier in his career, he served in the Belgian military until 1970. Among other duties, he was an instructor to the Air Force's candidate officers corp. After leaving military service, he became director of the Belgian division of « Booth Allen Hamilton U.S.A » from 1971 to 1973, where he took part in the notable endeavour involving « Valorvin ». He then became Director of Production for the « Palais du Vin SA » in Belgium from 1973 to 1994.

Joseph Lynch

Joe Lynch is a thirty year veteran of the Irish Spirits Industry. A food and dairy scientist, Joe commenced his career at R & J Emmet & Co. Ltd. in 1981 working in production, product development, and sales and marketing before becoming Managing Director in 1986. He led the company through its growth by acquisition and oversaw the listing of the company on the Dublin stock exchange in 1987.

In 1991, he negotiated the sale of the business to R & A Bailey, a division of Diageo, before co-founding First Ireland Spirits Co., Ltd. in 1994, where he now serves as Senior Director and consultant to the business.

Mr. Lynch has been involved with numerous trade associations and advisory bodies, serving as President of the Irish Exporters Association, Chairman of the Irish Spirits Association, a member of the Irish Food Board's Brand Forum Steering Committee and as the current chair of the Irish Cream Liqueur Producers Association.

Frithjof Nicolaysen

Mr. Nicolaysen graduated from the University of Tromsø in 1977 with a degree in Microbiology. He began his career as a research scientist and worked for the Norwegian Food Control Autority before joining the Norwegian State Monopoly of Wine and Spirits in 1983 as its Quality Director.

He joined the ArcusGruppen first as its Quality Director in 1995 and later as the chief buyer of wines and spirits. He was awarded "Le Mérite de l’Organisation Mondiale de la Vigne et du Vin" in 2008.

Today Fritjhof Nicolaysen is the Vice President, Corporate Affairs and Quality Control at Arcus and also serves as the President of the European Federation of Wine & Spirits Importers and Distributors (EFWSID).

 
Treasurer
 

Michel-Laurent Pinat

Michel-Laurent Pinat, received his MBA from Paris-Dauphine 1971 and studied Law and Economics at Paris IX-Nanterre University. In 1972, after twelve months of service in the French Army, he joined a family-owned company in the wine and spirits sector as an Assistant Secretary.

He became Managing Director of the new family group, “Compagnons Gourmets,” in 1976; a company comprised of six merged companies with interests in the wine and spirits sector and the restaurant industry. In 1983, this group became a part of a subsidiary of Pernod-Ricard. Since that time, Mr. Pinat served as the wine specialist in the group serving first in Burgundy, then later in Paris as the purchase manager for Languedoc, Rhone and Loire Valley and finally in Bordeaux as Alexis Lichine's General Manager.

In 1994, Mr. Pinat merged business interests with Alain Thiénot from Champagne (the Woltner Company). Mr. Pinat developed a large business in the United States focusing on Bordeaux classified growths and Champagne Marie Stuart. The company was sold in 2003 to the Ballande Group.

Mr. Pinat then joined AFED (Association Française des Eleveurs, Embouteilleurs et Distributeurs de Vins et Spiritueux), a French member of FIVS, as its Délégué Général and participated actively in all FIVS activities and meetings before becoming Assistant Treasurer and a member of the Board in 2004.

 
Assistant Treasurer
 

José Ramón Fernandez

Since 2006, José Ramón Fernandez has served as the Secretary General of the Comité Européen des Entreprises Vins (CEEV), which represents major wine companies as well as 24 national trade organisations. At the CEEV, José Ramón spearheaded the launch and coordinated the implementation of the “Wine In Moderation, Art de vivre” programme. He also serves as the Co-Chair of the Wine Category Committee for FIVS.

For over 18 years, he has been a consultant on EU Law and Public Affairs, providing legal, lobbying, and communications advice to food sector businesses, particularly in the areas of competition law, intellectual property, EU trade, and agricultural policy. He has advised numerous trade associations and companies in the energy and agri-foods sectors, particularly in the wine & spirits sector.

José Ramón was the Vice-President of the European Confederation of Spirits Producers (CEPS, 1998-1999) and Chairman of the Internal Market Committee of CEPS (2005).

In 2001, he was appointed Director General of the Comité Européen des Entreprises Vins (CEEV). In 2003, he was appointed Director General of the Spanish Spirits Federation (FEBE) where he developed and implemented a successful comprehensive corporate responsibility action plan by the national spirits sector.

José Ramon obtained a University Degree in Law at the University of Sevilla (Spain, 1991) and a Masters in European Law at the Institut d'Études Européennes, University of Liège (Belgium 1992).

 
Secretary
 

Greg Hodson

Dr. Hodson has a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry and a doctorate in food chemistry. After working as an analytical chemist in the dairy industry, he spent 12 years working in the UK's Ministry of Agriculture on technical aspects of food legislation. During this time, he conducted negotiations for the UK in the European Union, the Codex Alimentarius Commission, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, and the International Organisation of the Vine & Wine (OIV).

Mr. Hodson moved to California in 1997 and has held a wide variety of positions in winery research management, regulatory affairs, quality assurance, and compliance. He is currently responsible for technical regulatory affairs issues in connection with trade in wine, domestically and internationally. He is Chair of the Wine Institute’s Technical Advisory Committee, Co-Chairs FIVS' OIV Committee (which monitors the activities of the OIV), and is a member of the US industry delegation to the World Wine Trade Group.

 
Assistant Secretary
 

John Barker

John Barker is General Counsel for New Zealand Winegrowers, the national organisation representing the interests of New Zealand’s grape and wine sector. John is currently President of the Law and Economy Commission of the International Organisation of the Vine and Wine (OIV). He also represents the New Zealand wine industry in the World Wine Trade Group and is Co-Chair of FIVS' Wine Category Committee.

John was admitted to the bar in 1993 and has practiced law in New Zealand and Australia in the fields of banking, intellectual property, and wine law. He has worked for the New Zealand Food Safety Authority as Wine Programme Manager and has been a visiting lecturer in Wine Law at the University of Auckland. He holds a PhD in Law and Geography from the University of Auckland on the subject of wine regulation.