New chairman at Viña Santa Rita

By Jo Gilbert

Published: 29 July, 2016

Baltazar Sánchez Guzmán has been appointed to lead the board at Chilean winery Viña Santa Rita.

At their July meeting, board members voted to promote Sánchez to chairman and Arturo Claro Fernández to vice chairman.

The board also appointed attorney José Ignacio Figueroa Elgueta to the board, in replacement of his recently-deceased father, former president Juan Agustín Figueroa Yávar.

Ignacio Figueroa currently sits on the board of the other companies within the Claro Group.

Baltazar Sánchez graduated with a Business degree from the Universidad Católica and in 1980 was responsible for evaluating the Claro Group's acquisition of Viña Santa Rita.

He became the winery's first CEO after its purchase by Ricardo Claro and since then has been on the board continually, serving alternately as chairman, vice chairman and board member.

Sánchez is also currently chairman of the boards of Cristalerías Chile, Diario Financiero, Revista Capital and Ed, and a member of the boards of Elecmetal SA (and its subsidiaries in Chile, the USA and China), Quemchi, Siemel, and Aguas y Balneario Jahuel.

His professional activities have focused entirely on the agricultural sector, and the wine industry in particular: he is a member of the Cofradía del Mérito Vitivinícola and the Guilde Internationale des Fromagers.

Juan Agustín Figueroa, 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.

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