Chief of the Week: Anne Burchett, managing director, Sopexa UK

By Claret Pimpernel

Published: 24 October, 2014

As we have put such a focus on French wines this week with the France Summit it is only fitting that our Chief of the Week is none other than Anne Burchett, managing director of Sopexa UK, who won the Harpers Special Achievement Award at our French Wine Awards.

Burchett was understandably delighted to be honoured in this way, but as Harpers editor, Richard Siddle, explained during the awards ceremony it is an award she thoroughly deserves for the commitment and passion she has shown in promoting French wine in the UK throughout her career.

He said of Burchett: "Our winner is someone who is almost over qualified when it comes to knowing how to sell and promote French wine in the UK.

"Their multi-skilled career started off working for a major healthcare company, before moving over to wine working for major global French wine producers and then for one of the biggest names in UK drinks wholesaling.

"They have been managing director of a major retail chain and now in her current role they have become part diplomat or a politician even working with and representing the interests of many of the French generic and wine bodies in the room here today.

"Our winner is also a trained writer with an, as yet unpublished, and I am promised, fictional book about the rather more seedy goings on in the UK wine trade.

"But most of all she is a great personality, a great dancer, a great communicator, enormous fun, and is massively passionate about French wine and making it the winning category in the UK wine trade."

Anne Burchett. Chief of the Week.

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