Full Name
Lesley Berglund
Job Title
Chairman and Co-founder
Company
WISE Academy
Speaker Bio
Lesley is an accomplished wine industry entrepreneur and CEO with a focus on change management. Over the past 27 years in the wine industry she has started up the equivalent of nine new businesses, acquired and integrated four companies, and led during periods of dramatic change. As co-founder and former CEO of the Ambrosia Wine Catalogue/The Winetasting Network (which she sold in 2004), she has deep experience in consumer-direct marketing of fine wines. Lesley has served on the board of 11 wine-related companies and trade associations. In 2008, she co-founded the WISE Academy, which provides education, training and certification for winery consumer-direct professionals across wine regions throughout the United States and in New Zealand. In 2014 she co-founded SOLVE Services, which provides financial analysis, planning and decision support services for wineries. Today she spends most of her time coaching winery leaders through growth-related challenges and opportunities. Beyond wine, Lesley is a member of the YPO where she has held numerous local, regional and international board and leadership positions. Lesley is also a third-generation Napa Valley native from a grape growing family, with a B.A. from Wesleyan University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Twitter Handle
@WISEAcad
Lesley Berglund