Eugene OR – King Estate Winery announces the appointment of Executive Vice President, Steve Thomson, to the new role of Executive Vice President of Government Relations and Industry Affairs. “This position is key for our winery as the nature and maturing of the Oregon Wine Industry has created a focus in the increasingly important area of government relations.” says Ed King, CEO.
The winery looked to Thomson for this role because his knowledge of the wine industry and leadership background at King Estate, in addition to his already significant involvement in state and federal affairs, made him a natural choice for the job. Steve will work closely with Ed King, CEO, to initiate and achieve appropriate responses to government policies and industry issues that impact Oregon’s wine industry and King Estate Winery. According to Thomson, “To increase future value and growth for our winery and industry, we will increasingly need to face and address an ever more complex environment of competitive, regulatory, legislative, and market pressures, issues, and challenges in a timely and acceptable manner.”
Steve Thomson joined King Estate following careers as a hotel food & beverage director and in wine & spirits distribution, most recently with Glazer’s Distributors as General Sales Manager in the Missouri market.
Thomson joined King Estate Winery in 1999 as Southeast Regional Manager based in Atlanta. In 2001 Thomson moved to the winery in Eugene, OR to assume the position of Director of Sales, and then Director of Sales and Marketing. Thomson became Executive Vice President in 2007 overseeing sales, marketing, and public relations as well as winery strategic planning. In 2012 Thomson became Executive Vice President of the winery and was appointed by Governor John Kitzhaber to the board of directors of both the Oregon Wine Board and the Oregon Winegrowers Association where he currently chairs the marketing and export advisory committees. In addition, Thomson has served since 2006 on the Board of Directors of ‘WineAmerica’- the National Association of American Wineries, where he sits on the Government Affairs committee. He is also on the Board of Directors of The Northwest Wine Coalition, and Chemeketa College’s ‘Northwest Wine Studies Center’.
About King Estate: King Estate, celebrating 23 years of Oregon winemaking in 2014, is located southwest of Eugene, Oregon, at the southern tip of the Willamette Valley. Founded in 1991 by the King family, King Estate is committed to producing wines of exceptional quality using organic & sustainable farming methods, meticulous fruit selection, and impeccable winemaking practices. King Estate focuses on producing world-class Pinot Gris and Pinot Noirs, while also producing other excellent varietals under their Acrobat and NxNW labels. King Estate is owned and operated by the King Family.
Visit King Estate on-line: www.kingestate.com
