Consumer >> CEO Interviews >> January 27, 2003
WILLIAM A. TERLATO is President and Chief Operating Officer of
Chicago-based Terlato Wine Group, the family-owned parent company
of several independent businesses specializing in the marketing
and production of exceptional wines. Mr. Terlato is also
President and Chief Operating Officer of the group's flagship
company, Paterno Wines International. Paterno is the leading
marketer of luxury wine brands in the United States, responsible
for more than 36% of imported wine over $14 a bottle sold in
America. Under Mr. Terlato's leadership, Paterno's global
portfolio has evolved to read like a fine wine list, featuring 40
world-class brands, including Santa Margherita, Gaja, Markham,
Chimney Rock, Pio Cesare, Chapoutier and Domaine Laroche, among
others. Mr. Terlato also oversees the Group's investments in
vineyards, wine production joint ventures and wineries in some of
the world's most esteemed wine regions, including Napa Valley;
Sonoma County; Santa Barbara County; Victoria, Australia; and the
Rhone Valley in France. Mr. Terlato joined the family business
full-time after graduating from Loyola University, making him and
his brother John the third generation to carry forward the
family's pledge to quality as a way of life and the driving line
for doing business. He began his career in an entry-level
position and went on to work in various areas of the company and
the industry, including sales and brand management. He was named
National Sales Manager for Paterno in 1985, Vice President in
1988, and in 1994 he was named President and COO of Paterno and
TWG. Among other career highlights, in 1996 he negotiated the
family's entry into wine production with the purchase of Napa
Valley's Rutherford Hill Winery. In 2002, he led TWG's exit from
the distributing business with the sale of its five Illinois
distributorships in order to focus all of the company's resources
on marketing and producing luxury wines. Profile
Wine Group and a picture of things as they are now?
Mr. Terlato: Our family has been involved in the luxury wine
business for
