Paul Schaafsma heads up Accolade Wines

New World wine company Accolade Wines appointed its General Manager for the UK and
 Ireland Paul Schaafsma as Chief Executive succeeding John Ratcliffe who 
becomes the company’s Deputy Chairman.

One of the world’s largest wine businesses, Accolade delivers more than 35 million cases a year to 143 countries totalling Aus$1 billion (€630 million) in annual sales.

Paul has been involved in the wine industry for nearly 20 years with extensive experience in the Australian, UK, European and African markets. For the past three years he’s headed Accolade’s largest division, the UK and Ireland region, where it claims to be the number one wine company by value and volume, more than double the size of its nearest competitor.

Under Paul’s leadership Accolade’s market share in the UK has grown by over 70% and Hardys, the leading wine brand in the UK on- and off-trades, has increased its market share by almost 16%.

Prior to joining Accolade, Paul was the driving force behind McGuigan Wines, becoming a market leader across the UK and Ireland while he was General Manager of Australian Vintage in that region.

Paul took up his appointment on 1st October and will spend time in all of Accolade Wines’ markets, travelling from bases in the UK and Australia.