The Saint James Company

June 18 2009

In California, new world wine distributor The Saint James Company has appointed former Nielsen SVP Richard Hurst as its new Chief Executive Officer. At Nielsen, Hurst served as SVP Beverage Alcohol, overseeing the firm’s relationships with more than 150 suppliers and distributors of beer, wine and spirits. He joined Nielsen in 2006, following the firm’s acquisition of US wine and spirits industry data firm Beverage Data Network, of which he was President. During his more than 30 years in the alcohol industry, Hurst worked with Diageo and its predecessor companies in a number of senior roles. He began his career with Distillers Company in the UK, and managed several businesses in Europe including United Distillers Germany and Austria. He has an MA in Modern Languages from Oxford University. Wayne Gronquist, outgoing CEO and currently a Director of Saint James, commented: ‘We are honored to have someone at the helm of Saint James with the prior industry experience and success that Richard has enjoyed.’ The Saint James Company was founded in 1984 and is based in Santa Monica, California. Web site: www.thesaintjamescompany.com . Printer-friendly version of this article. Email this article to a friend. Register for News emails