President of Viña Santa Rita board of directors passes away

By Erin Smith

Published: 14 July, 2016

Juan Agustín Figueroa, the president of Viña Santa Rita board of directors passed away on 7 July, 2016 at the age of 82.

Figueroa held top positions at the company since 1980 until his death, with a brief gap from 1990-1994 when he was appointed the Minister of Agriculture for Chile.

He was a close personal friend of entrepreneur Ricardo Claro, who was the president and acquired Viña Santa Rita in 1980. Figueroa was appointed as president of the board of directors in 2008 upon the death of Claro. He played a pivotal role int he development of the company following Claro's acquisition of the company over three decades ago.

While in his role as Minster of Agriculture under Patricio Aylwin Azócar's administration, Figuuero was a proponent of the denomination of origin, which went on to help develop the Chilean wine expert markets.

Figueroa also founded and resided over the Pablo Neruda Foundation, which over has looked after the legacy of the poet.

Santa Rita 120 is a global brand with sales that exceed 6.5 million cases. The Santa Rita Estates portfolio comprising four wine brands from Chile: Santa Rita, Carmen, Nativa, Terra Andina and Doña Paula from Argentina.

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