About Visit Napa Valley

After 21 years as C.E.O. of a new $40 million fine wine company based in the Napa Valley, Ms. Rodeno retired in mid-2009 to devote herself to board service. Using her classic and direct marketing expertise, she grew the French family-owned, vertically integrated company from its startup phase to financial success in record time, always with an eye to the long term.

In the early 1970’s, as the second employee of the first French-owned (LVMH) investment in the Napa Valley, her fluency in French opened the door to a unique opportunity to learn all aspects of the fine wine business: agriculture, product development, organizational behavior, operations, brand building, import-export, strategic planning, business cycles and shareholder relations. Her career spans 37 years in the luxury consumer products field, first at Domaine Chandon (1973-1988) and then at St. Supery (1988-2009). Armed with B.A. and M.A. degrees in French literature from the University of California, Davis, and a year at the University of Bordeaux, Ms. Rodeno completed her formal education with an M.B.A. from the Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley. A seasoned international traveler, Ms. Rodeno resides in the Napa Valley where her family produces minute amounts of estate grown Sangiovese under their Villa Ragazzi label.

Michael Woods is the founder and president of Baywood Capital Corporation and owner of the Mount View Hotel & Spa. Since 1980 Michael has developed, operated, and managed successful commercial, residential, and hospitality properties primarily in Northern California. Over the past 10 years, he has especially recognized the human value to business by developing close relationships with staff, partners and owners. This synergistic approach creates a work environment that is personally and financially rewarding. His creative spirit has led him to dedicating more of his energy and time to projects like the development of eco-resort Avalon Springs, which fosters prosperity while supporting health, wellness, and balance. Michael, his wife Stephanie and their daughter, Indie, make their home in Calistoga.

As the General Manager of The Meritage Resort & Spa since 2007, Michael Palmer leads a staff of 275 and 26 salaried managers. His primary focus is orchestrating a culture of service-driven individuals by a leading vs. managing philosophy—engaging team members to serve with passion towards their mutual goals of excellence in the field ofhospitality. The award-winning General Manager has accrued many years prior to his position at The Meritage; which includes Managing Director/General Manager of hotels throughout Northern California and the mid-West. Known for his top relationship and public speaking skills, Mr. Palmer continuously maintains enduring relationships with customers, business partners, and peers as a leading member of the Napa Valley Destination Council.

George A. Goeggel graduated from hotel school in Switzerland before spending his formative years working at luxury hotels in Germany, Switzerland, Austria and France. In 1982 Mr. Goeggel joined the Rosewood Hotel Group, headquartered in Dallas, Texas, holding various management positions at the Mansion on Turtle Creek, Hotel Bel-Air, The Remington, Hotel Hana-Maui, and The Hotel Crescent Court and Spa. In 1990, Mr. Goeggel became the Managing Partner of Auberge du Soleil in Rutherford, California. He has been a Director and Principal of Auberge Resorts, an operator of unique boutique hotels, resorts and clubs, since its inception in 1997.

Mr Goeggel also serves as member of the Executive Board and Vice President of Relais & Chateaux, based in Paris, France.

Clay Gregory has more than 25 years of marketing and management experience in multiple industries, building consensus and developing outstanding programs with a wide variety of partners across many fields. Prior to his role with the NVDC, Gregory served in key wine industry leadership roles, including as President of Jackson Family Wines, and Vice President and General Manager of Robert Mondavi Winery. Gregory has been an active member of community and industry associations, including serving as President of the Napa Valley Vintners and the Napa Valley Wine Auction Boards, President of the Oakville Winegrowers, and he is currently on the Boards of Directors of Napa Humane, Auction Napa Valley, the Napa Chamber of Commerce, and the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science at UC Davis. Travel, cooking and dining are some of his passions beyond wine. He lives with his wife, two Basset hounds, four sheep, three goats and two hens in Napa.

Chris Canning has been the Executive Director of the Calistoga Chamber of Commerce since December 2009, following three years on the Chamber’s Board of Directors. His extensive experience in sales, marketing, operations and transition management stem from a sixteen year career with Nestle Waters North America. Canning's career with Nestle began in New England where he was born and raised. After serving three years as the International Customer Development Director based in Paris, France, Canning had an opportunity to move to the Napa Valley to serve as director of Calistoga Beverage Company. His three years in this position cemented his deep affinity for the town of Calistoga, where he’s chosen to make his home. In addition to his current Chamber job, Canning was elected to Calistoga’s City Council in November 2010 and began his four year term as a councilmember in December 2010.

Rick Swig operates RSBA & Associates, a consultancy firm for the hospitality industry founded in 1986. Since that time, Mr. Swig has provided advisory services to both major hotel management and operating companies, as well as owners of individual hotels and portfolios. Along with his asset management and consultancy work associated with RSBA & Associates, he has also been an investor in hotels since 1989, including currently the Harvest Inn in St. Helena, California. His past background also includes a career with Fairmont Hotels, where he rose to be the Vice-President and Managing Director of the Fairmont Hotel Management Company.
Rick Swig is past President of the Hospitality Asset Managers Association (HAMA) and a member of the International Society of Hospitality Consultants (ISHC) of which he is past Chairman. He was the 2005-2006 Chairman of the San Francisco Convention & Visitors Bureau Board of Directors, and in 2008 was Chairperson of the Tourism Improvement District committee, which created new legislation for tourism and convention center funding in San Francisco. Currently, he is a Commissioner and Vice-President of the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency Commission. He has served on advisory committees for the University of San Francisco Hospitality Management Program, The Collins School of Hospitality Management at California State Polytechnic University Pomona, and City College of San Francisco plus as a member of the Board of Trustees at Occidental College in Los Angeles, California. He is a graduate of Stanford University.

Prior to joining Meadowood in 1998, Ann Marie served as a publicist collaborating with vintners, restaurateurs, hoteliers and specialty food producers. For more than a decade, she worked closely with her clients to identify the areas of differentiation that made each of their stories special, compelling and newsworthy. Her understanding of the power and value of a strong image and identity became the foundation of her work for her clients and remains an integral part of her work for Meadowood.

Today, Ann Marie brings to the NVCVB board more than twenty years of experience in marketing, public relations and communications focused on the areas of food, wine, travel and hospitality, including website development, collateral design, special events, branding and strategic planning. In 2005 in collaboration with the Napa Valley Vintners and the Culinary Institute of America, Ann Marie was influential in launching The Symposium for Professional Wine Writers at Meadowood Napa Valley. Ann Marie currently serves on the boards of directors for The St. Helena Performing Arts Theater Foundation, The Symposium for Professional Wine Writers, The Napa Valley Conference and Visitors Bureau, and the St. Helena Chamber of Commerce. She lives in St. Helena with her husband, a Napa Valley vintner, and two teenage daughters.

Linda Reiff has served as executive director of the Napa Valley Vintners (NVV) since 1995. Under her leadership NVV membership has quadrupled to more than 425 member wineries, marketing and promotions programs have expanded worldwide, and the organization has become an international leader on industry issues. Reiff leads the NVV’s efforts to create and maintain the world-class reputation for Napa Valley wines. She spearheads the NVV’s proactive approach on a number of fronts, including: efforts to protect winegrowing place names around the world; development of the most progressive farming, land and winery green certification programs in the United States; and, unprecedented business investment in community causes. She is married to Richard Ward, founder of Saintsbury vineyards & winery in Napa.

Michael Dellar is Co-founder, President and CEO of the $40,000,000, award-winning 12-restaurant Lark Creek® Restaurant Group. Founded in 1989, the Group is dedicated to offering seasonal farm-fresh fare, extensive wine and spirits offerings, caring, professional service and excellent value.
Among the many accolades bestowed up on the group, two of the restaurants have received Michelin Stars. Dellar is Co-founder and Director of Red Tractor Café. He served as a Director of OpenTable.com and Gelato Classico, and participated in the sale of that company to Baskin Robbins. Dellar is also President of Dellar Restaurant Enterprises, Inc., a hospitality industry consulting firm. He received his MBA with honors in 1970 and his BS degree magna cum laude in 1969, both from the University of Southern California, and was elected to the academic honor societies of Beta Gamma Sigma and Phi Kappa Phi. Dellar lives in Napa Valley with his wife, Leslye, where he grows Cabernet Sauvignon grapes.

David Francke is the Managing Director and a partner at Folio Fine Wine Partners. Founded in 2004 by Michael Mondavi and his family, Folio Fine Wine Partners is an importer and producer of quality wines from California, Argentina, Italy, Spain and Austria. In his role as Managing Director, David is responsible for the strategic direction of the company. A native of Kansas City, Missouri, David’s passion for wine was ignited more than 20 years ago when he spent his senior year of college abroad at the University of Bordeaux, France, where he studied French language, history and completed coursework at the Institute of Enology. After college, he joined Wines and Spirit Specialties, a fine wine distributor in Kansas City, Missouri where he represented wines such as Silver Oak, Heitz and Jordan, as well as first-growth Bordeaux and the top wines of Burgundy, Italy and Germany.

David R. Shipman, managing director of Vintage Inn and Villagio Inn & Spa in Yountville, has more than 25 years of luxury hotel expertise at top hotel brands including the famed Auberge Du Soleil in Rutherford, California, and the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company in Aspen, Colorado. A native of Washington State, Mr. Shipman is an expert leader in hotel openings, property positioning and team building.

In addition to his work with the Napa Valley Destination Council, Mr. Shipman’s community involvement includes a position as board member of the Yountville Tourism Business Improvement District. Mr. Shipman lives in Napa with his wife Claudia, and is most proud of his two daughters, Stevie, who recently returned from deployment in Iraq, and Britt, who a junior at Sacramento State University. He is also a passionate supporter of V-Foundation Wine Celebration for Cancer Research and enjoys snow skiing, tennis, bike riding and collecting wine.

A California native, Stephen Corley first made his splash in the wine business at the young age of 13, assisting with the construction of  his family’s Monticello Vineyards during summer break in the 1980s. He then spent the following four summers in the cellar helping produce Monticello Vineyards and Corley Reserve wines.

In 1997, Stephen returned to Napa from working as an accountant and consultant with KPMG in Atlanta and London to join his father, Jay (Founder), and his brothers, Kevin and Chris (both winemakers) as Director of Wine Sales. He currently manages all wine sales activities for Monticello Vineyards and Corley Reserve. In addition to his work with the Napa Valley Destination Council, Mr. Corley serves on the Board of Directors of the Napa Valley Vintners, the Wine Institute, and the Board of Auction Napa Valley. He lives with his wife, Michele, and their two dogs. His “other than wine” interests include fly fishing, live sports, auto racing, model trains and travel.

Steve Carlin is a retail marketplace developer and specialty food consultant working on projects in a number of U.S. cities. He is Founder and CEO of Oxbow Public Market and The Carlin Company and has been directly involved in several transformative retail projects over the last ten years; including the Ferry Building Marketplace in San Francisco, the Oxbow Public Market in the Napa Valley, and Napa Farms Market in San Francisco International Airport in the Bay Area. His background includes 20 years as Managing Partner of the Oakville Grocery Company, a leading Northern California specialty foods retailer featuring artisan local foods and producers since 1980.

He is an active and sought-after retail consultant in the specialty food industry and a strong supporter of the Buy Fresh, Buy Local farm movement in California. He served on the Board of Directors for Joseph Phelps Vineyards, in St. Helena, CA, and was President of the Board of Directors for the popular St. Helena Farmer’s Market in the Napa Valley. He is a graduate of the University of South Florida in Tampa and attended Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business in 1995.

Michael Chiarello is a nationally renowned award-winning chef. He is chef/owner of Bottega, his highly acclaimed Napa Valley restaurant in Yountville. He is also an Emmy-winning Food Network host. In 2008, he was a finalist on Bravo's “Top Chef Masters." Chiarello is the tastemaker behind NapaStyle retail stores and catalogue, a highly rated vintner of Chiarello Family Vineyards, and a noted cookbook author. Throughout his career, Michael has combined his Southern Italian roots with Napa Valley living to pioneer culinary and lifestyle trends. Michael’s ongoing endeavors inspire friends and family to gather around the table and create meaningful traditions in their own lives.

Michael incorporates his personal passion for seasonal, sustainable living, into all that he does: from the growers he supports at Bottega and his product designs for NapaStyle to his earth-friendly farming practices in his vineyards. Michael shares his unique perspective and passion on what comprises good food and healthy living for today's lifestyle. Based in the Napa Valley, Michael lives amongst his vineyards with his wife and children.