Accolade Wines has appointed its General Manager of the UK and Ireland, Paul Schaafsma as Chief Executive Officer.

As a result, current CEO of the company, John Ratcliffe will become Deputy Chairman.

Mr. Schaafsma has been involved in the wine industry for almost 20 years, having worked in Australia, the UK, Europe and Africa.

For the past three years, Mr. Schaafsma has been heading up the largest division of the wine business in the UK and Ireland. According to Accolade Wines, under Mr. Schaafsma’s leadership as GM, the company’s market share grew by more than 70 per cent in the UK.

Prior to joining Accolade Wines, Paul was the driving force behind McGuigan Wines in the UK and Ireland as General Manager of Australian Vintage in those market.

As Deputy Chairman, Mr. Ratcliffe will continue to advice Mr. Schaafsma, who will take up his appointment on October 1.

The board at Accolade Wines paid tribute to Mr. Ratcliffe’s time with the company as CEO, thanking him for his contribution to developing the business into a supplier of New World premium, commercial and value wines, now operating in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, the United States and Chile.