Australia is one of the largest wine exporters globally, along with Spain, Italy, France, Chile, New Zealand and the US. The export wine industry in Australia has been growing at a steady pace, and premium Australian wine products are creating their own market around the world. Robert Foye, an American business executive, has been making his place in the rapidly expanding Australian global wine industry by leading the growth agenda.
Currently, Robert Foye serves as the CEO of Accolade Wines, one of the oldest winemakers in Australia and the world. The Company was founded in 1836, nearly 184 years ago, and employs over 1400 employees. It owns over 70 brands of wine including the iconic wines HARDYs, Grant Burge, St. Hallett, Petaluma and Banrock Station. Foye has been working in the FMCG and wine industry for almost 30 years, assuming varied roles in several companies including the FMCG giant The Coca-Cola Company, where he worked for 23 years. Robert Foye has significant experience in the global FMCG industry, where he has also worked for Deloitte & Touche, Treasury Wine Estates and Warburg Pincus.
Accolade Wines is headquartered in Melbourne, Australia, and known for producing wine in the UK and Australia with recent accelerated expansion into Asia and North America. With his expert management and entrepreneurial skills, Robert Foye is contributing to the accelerated global expansion of the Australian wine industry in these markets.
For his work, Robert Foye has received the China Wine Market Person of the Year Award by Sugar and Alcohol Weekly as well as the alumni Industry Excellence Award for Consumer Products from the Rice Business School. Born and raised in College Station, Texas, Foye also spent a significant part of his childhood in West Point, New York. He was passionate about basketball while growing up, later played as an undergraduate at Rice University, and completed his MBA course at the Rice Business School.
Robert Foye joined Accolade Wines in March 2020 as the Chief Operating Officer, and he quickly progressed to the CEO position a few months later. Under his leadership, Accolade Wines is entering a new growth phase. The Company has entered a major partnership with the U.S. firm Quintessential, supplying wines in the US market. They also acquired the Katnook brand, winery, and estate vineyards based in the Coonawarra region of South Australia. In addition, Accolade Wines Europe recently achieved carbon neutrality for its core branded portfolio in that market.
The company owns, markets and sells a significant number of wine brands from different countries of origin including Australia, New Zealand, Chile, the United States, and Italy. Look for even more global expansion and growth in the future from the Australian wine industry, with Accolade Wines leading that growth.