Advisory Board

Master of Wine Vanessa Conlin is the Brand Ambassador for OVID Napa Valley, Chateau Ducru Beaucaillou and Dana Wine Estates. Formerly, she was the Global Head of Wine Retail for Sotheby’s, overseeing all wine e-commerce and brick and mortar retail, as well as content and Sotheby’s owned labels. Previously, she was the Chief Wine Officer for Wine Access, a national online wine provider. Vanessa is also the co-creator of Pas de Cheval, a line of Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignons in collaboration with winemaker Maayan Koschitzky.

Anuj Girdhar is the CFO at O’Neill Vintners & Distillers, one of the fastest growing portfolios of B-Corp certified brands in the US. With almost 20 years of experience in the Wine Industry, Anuj oversees short- and long-term strategic finance and planning for O’Neill. Anuj’s professional career started in Atlanta as a Consultant for Accenture with a focus on technology. After completing his MBA, Anuj spent the next 16 years at E. & J. Gallo Winery in a variety of roles in the US and UK including New Product Development, Demand / S&OP, EMEA Operations, Pricing, and as the Finance Director for Luxury.

Francesca is a Managing Director in BMO’s Wine & Spirits Commercial Banking team based in Napa providing capital and counsel to the North American Wine & Spirits industry including wineries, vineyards, distillers and key support industries. She has over 20 years of financial services experience including as an Investment Banker at JPMorgan where during her last 7 years she was based in San Francisco and executed a number of M&A transactions as well as an IPO in the wine industry. 

As chief financial officer of Chappellet Winery and Vineyard, one of Napa Valley’s legacy family-owned wineries, Christine Ha is responsible for the short-term financial success of the storied estate and ensuring its legacy for generations to come. Christine’s professional career started in San Francisco as a certified public accountant for KPMG with a focus on financial service companies. She has also worked with Blackbird Vineyards, Ma(i)sonry Napa Valley, Silverado Premium Properties and Silverado Winegrowers (“Silverado”). 

Jon Moramarco is the managing partner at bw166 LLC, providing advisory services and data intelligence to the beverage alcohol industry. Jon is also a partner and editor of The Gomberg Fredrikson Report. Jon holds a Bachelor of Science degree from UC Davis in Agricultural Science and Management. His early career was with Allied Domecq, where he held various management positions culminating in a divisional CEO role for seven years. 

Michael Osborn has been a pioneer in online wine retailing since founding Wine.com as eVineyard in 1998. Mike leads the company’s efforts in merchandising its wine and gifts and holds key wine industry relationships worldwide. Launching the company at age 29, he spent more than a decade prior with entrepreneurial success in the software and systems integration industry. Today, he is the CEO of Willamette Valley Vineyards. 

Michaela is the majority owner (with her family) of a mostly Cabernet vineyard in Oakville, where they also grow small amounts of Sangiovese that they've vinified under their Villa Ragazzi label since 1989. She is also the retired CEO of St. Supery Winery (1988-2009), and second employee of Domaine Chandon (1973-1988) from newbie to VP/Marketing. She is also the co-founder of Women for Winesense (1990). 

Clarice Turner serves as a Board Director for Delicato Family Wines, the 5th largest wine company in the U.S., and for private equity owned Blaze Pizza. She is a trustee of the Culinary Institute of America, and an advisor on the Dean’s Development Council for San Francisco State University Lam School of Business. Turner is the former President of Joseph Phelps Vineyards, responsible for executing the company’s mission to ensure its long-term growth and sustainability, resulting in the largest net operating margin in the company’s 45-year history, and subsequent sale to Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessey.

Dana has been in the wine business for nearly 20 years, mostly in an investment management capacity. She is currently CFO at Far Niente Wine Estates in Oakville, a private equity-owned luxury wine business comprised of six world-class brands, three beautiful wine estates and hundreds of top-quality vineyard acres in Napa and Sonoma.  Prior to Far Niente, Dana worked at GI Partners, as the Portfolio Manager for an institutional investment portfolio of 25 vineyard properties and 1,600 acres in Sta. Rita Hills, Sonoma Coast, Napa Valley and Willamette Valley.