Transcript CEO INTERVIEW TED BESELER

CEO
INTERVIEW
TED BASELER
Heather Shavey
Jim Klauer
Doug Moore
Ted Baseler
President & CEO
Stimson Lane Vineyards and estates
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President and CEO – 20 months
President of Stimson Lane Wine
Group
with company since 1984
Characteristics
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Humble Individual
Well spoken
Reserved
Calm and Even Keeled
Passionate and Proud of business
Expert at his business
Wines
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One of the Top Ten Premium Wine Companies
The Premiere Washington Wine Company
Selling more than 30 million bottles of wine
annually
Chateau Ste. Michelle
Columbia Crest
Domaine Ste. Michelle
Snoqualmie
Col Solare
NorthStar
Villa Mt. Eden
Conn Creek
Colour Volant
Martinez Ports
Business
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April 2001
Reported strong sales and profits
Revenue +10.6%
Operating Profit +63.2%
New Growth Strategy
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Vision for capitalizing on quality
products and unique position vs.
acquisition
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Shift focus to improving operating results
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Reduce costs of goods sold
Improve top end wines
Eliminate underperforming assets
Refocusing on existing operations
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Expected to deliver + 20% increases for 3 years
to come
Implementation
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Rolled up his sleeves
Key management team 11key execs
Threw the nike shoe onto the table
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Monthly offsite meeting
Grading and solving problems
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We are going to run together
We need each part of the shoe to run
Company is not broken but can run faster
No side bar meetings after solved
Provide focus to the team
Strategic Plan Roll out
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Ted personally
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Implemented focus groups of 12
Chaired meetings – traveling
Explained, company is not broken
Asked groups where do you rate?
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Everyone said at the bottom
 Except customer service
Results
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Turned around the numbers
First 20 month in control
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Careful not to take credit personally
“It was not that difficult, just common
sense, everything was there to make it
successful, I had to focus the attention
on the drivers of our business and get
rid of the distractions.”
Awards
(highlights)
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2000 Stimson Lane has 5 wines on the Top
100 Wines of the World list Wine Spectator
2001 Stimson lane has 3 wines on the top
100 wines of the world list Wine Spectator
Highest ranking White Wine in the world
2001csm cold creek chardonnay 93
Chateau ste. Michelle 9 top 100 wines in 8
years
Columbia Crest 7 Top 100 Wines in the past 5
years
Columbia Crest 8 of 13 current releases
rating outstanding
Charity
Stimson Lane Vineyards and Estates
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Northwest Wine Auction
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Poncho Wine Auction
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14 years
Benefiting Children’s hospital
2001 auction raised $1,500,000
10 years
Raising money for the arts
2001 auction raised $500,000
Concerts on the Green
Villa Mt. Eden & Breast Cancer
Research
Buzz Words
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Buy in
Access to answers
Value input from all levels of company
Reminders of success
Core Values and Core Brands
Community
Quality Statement
Vision
Mission Statement
Winning team
Situational leadership
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Told story about specific situation
Do the right thing
Huge risk
Serious doubts
All alone no one following
(competition)
Huge success & reward
Sold 15 months of inventory in 90 days