South American producer Santa Rita Estates has announced changes in its top-management, with two new designations: Francisca Muñiz as Corporate Marketing Director and Jaime de la Barra as Winegrowing Director.

Santiago, May 2020.– In order to continue building on its brands and strengthening its position in the global markets with a permanent focus on its clients and consumers, Santa Rita Estates has reorganized part of its management team. This, following the departure of former Winegrowing Director, Eduardo Alemparte, who stepped down after five years in the position and 9 years in the company.

Jaime de la Barra, former CMO, will take over as Winegrowing Director, in charge of the winemaking and viticulture areas of Santa Rita Estates, both in Chile and Argentina. De la Barra, Agronomist, Winemaker and MBA of the Universidad Católica de Chile, has developed his career both in Chile and abroad. He joined Santa Rita in 2011 in the Continental European sales division, and was later on made Regional Director of the same area. In December 2014, he was named Corporate Marketing Director, overseeing all brands of the group –Santa Rita, Carmen, Doña Paula and Sur Andino. In this role, Jaime was responsible for the major change in brand strategy: a shift towards global brands, aligning the portfolio construction of each brand under one single concept worldwide making it significant impact into global consumer perception in major markets. From this new position, he hopes to continue deepening the knowledge and understanding of each terroir to produce great wines.

In turn, Francisca Muñiz, who until now was Tourism Director for Santa Rita, was designated as Corporate Marketing Director. Francisca is a Commercial Engineer and Master in Marketing from Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, and has been part of Santa Rita since 2005. She was first Brand Manager for Chile, followed by the same role for the international markets, learning first hand on their particular tastes and trends. In 2011, she took over the newly created Tourism Division, developing and professionalizing a somewhat unexplored area for the company. The creation of a comprehensive experience, including tours, the reopening of Hotel Casa Real, gastronomy, culture and nature, together with the instauration of events opening the patrimony to the community, allowed the positioning of Santa Rita and its heritage as a beacon in the Maipo Valley today. In this new challenge, Francisca will continue leading Santa Rita Estates to become a global reference in the wine industry.