Lesley Berglund / Co-Chair, WITS

Lesley is an accomplished wine industry entrepreneur and CEO with a focus on change management.  Over the past 24 years in the wine industry she has started up the equivalent of nine new businesses, acquired and integrated four companies and led during periods of dramatic change.  As co-founder and former CEO of the Ambrosia Wine Catalogue/the Winetasting Network (which she sold in 2004) she has deep experience in consumer direct marketing of fine wines.  Lesley has served on the board of ten wine-related companies and trade associations, and serves as co-chair of the Wine Industry Technology Symposium.  In 2008, she co-founded the WISE Academy, which provides education, training and certification for winery consumer direct professionals.  In 2014 she co-founded SOLVE Services which provides financial analysis, planning and decision support services for wineries.  Today she spends most of her time coaching winery leaders through growth related challenges and opportunities.  Beyond wine, Lesley is a member of the World Presidents Organization and serves on its Pacific Region Board as well as the YPO-WPO International Forum Committee.  Lesley is also a third generation Napa Valley native from a grape growing family, with a BA from Wesleyan University and a MBA from Harvard Business School.