Management Team
Chairmen
William Hill - Vineyard Designer, Co-Chairman & Co-CEO
Richard Wollack - Co-Chairman & Co-CEO
Property Management
Investment Management & Finance
Independent Board Members
Chairmen
William Hill - Vineyard Designer, Co-Chairman & Co-CEO
William Hill is Co-Chairman of the Board of Directors, Co-Chief Executive Officer, President and Secretary of PPV. Mr. Hill lives and works in Napa Valley. With partners, Mr. Hill founded William Hill Winery (Napa), Van Duzer (Oregon) and, most recently, Bighorn Cellars (Napa). In 1996, Wine Spectator, a respected publication in the wine industry, recognized Mr. Hill as one of the 50 “wine producers who innovated, perfected and led the international campaign for higher quality wine” over the past 30 years. In his 30-year career, Mr. Hill has developed over 40 high-end vineyards, perhaps the most of any developer in the United States. Over that time, Mr. Hill has acquired a level of experience and expertise unmatched in the industry.
Mr. Hill grew up in Oklahoma, where he earned a degree from the University of Oklahoma. He later earned an MBA degree from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. He is an active member of the American Society of Enology and Viticulture, as well as other professional organizations associated with the wine industry.
Richard Wollack - Co-Chairman & Co-CEO
Dick Wollack, along with his partner Bill Hill, is co-founder and Co-Chief Executive Officer of Premier Pacific Vineyards, the largest developer of high-end vineyards in the U.S. with properties in California (Santa Barbara, Sonoma, Mendocino, and Napa counties), Oregon and Washington. He has been involved in all phases of the real estate investment business since 1971, and has been a principal in dozens of real estate entities with a combined capitalization of more than $5 billion. Mr. Wollack was the founder and Chairman of Global Real Analytics (GRA), an investment firm that since 1980 specialized in forecasting real estate market prospects for and management of investment in publicly traded real estate debt and equity securities. GRA was sold to Charles Schwab Investment Management effective January 1, 2007. The author of two books on real estate and investing, he has also been an adjunct professor at both Stanford Graduate School of Business and the U.C. Berkeley Graduate School of Business and was a member of the California Senate Commission on Corporate Governance, Shareholder Rights and Securities Transactions. Mr. Wollack holds an MBA with distinction from the Stanford Graduate School of Business (1969) and a BA from the University of Illinois (1967), where he was admitted to Phi Beta Kappa. Mr. Wollack is a licensed California Real Estate Broker. He lives in St. Helena, California with his wife, Sue.
Vineyard Development & Management
Mitchell Klug - Vice President, Vineyard Operations
Mitchell Klug joined PPV in 2005 to oversee the development and management of the entire PPV portfolio. Until 2004, Mitchell was Director of Vineyard Operations at Robert Mondavi, where he was in charge of nearly 1,400 acres of premium vineyards including the Opus One and To Kalon vineyards. Mitchell also serves as Vice President of the Napa County Resource Conservation District Board of Directors, a position he has held for the past ten years.
Mitchell began with Robert Mondavi in early 1986 as a Ranch Supervisor, developed a Carneros property of 360 acres and then two adjacent properties from 1989-1994. In 1992, Mitchell was promoted to Director of Winegrowing and was responsible for replanting all of Mondavi's Napa Valley vineyards post-phylloxera. Mitchell was also involved with Mondavi's European joint ventures as a viticultural liaison. He developed the sustainable farming program under the Mondavi Family direction and worked to put in place farming programs that considered the uniqueness of the site, the economic goals of the department and quality of life issues for the employees. Mitchell graduated from California State University, Fresno with a BS in Viticulture.
Patrick Mahaney - Director, Vineyard Marketing
Patrick Mahaney is PPV's Director of Vineyard Marketing. Mr. Mahaney leads the marketing of PPV's vineyard properties and capital solutions to the fine wine industry. Prior to joining PPV, Mr. Mahaney had a 24 year career at Robert Mondavi Winery, where for the past eight years he was Mondavi's Vice President of Global Wine Quality. In that role he directed statewide winegrowing research and quality-assurance initiatives, served as a product liaison and co-marketer for new-brand and new-product initiatives, and directed the 'makeover' of Mondavi's Coastal-Private Selection product line to enhance its financial returns. Prior to that, Mr. Mahaney was Mondavi's Director of Napa Valley Winemaking Operations. Mr. Mahaney graduated from the University of California, Davis with a BS in Biochemistry.
Tom Adams - Director, Entitlement and Land Use
Thomas Adams has over 10 years of experience as an attorney and environmental consultant providing private and public clients practical legal and regulatory advice on National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), land use, wetlands, endangered species, Fish and Game Code, and Clean Water Act compliance. Prior to joining PPV, Mr. Adams was a Program Manager and Senior Project Manager with Kleinfelder Engineering, Environmental Counsel with Jones & Stokes Associates and a Land Use/Environmental Attorney with both Downey Brand LLP and Abbott & Kindermann LLP. Mr. Adams has taught classes for UC Davis Extension on NEPA, CEQA and environmental permitting and been a guest lecturer at UC Berkeley.
Mr. Adams is a graduate of California Polytechnical State University at SLO and the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law, and is a member of the California State Bar.
Matt McKamey - Vice President, Development
Matt McKamey is PPV’s Vice President of Development and has over 25 years of project management and land development experience. For the past 10 years, Matt’s focus has been on the entitlement and development of vineyards, wineries and commercial properties. His expertise includes planning, CEQA, regulatory compliance and preparation of engineering improvement plans. Prior to joining PPV, Matt was a Principal of Winzler and Kelly, an Engineering News Record Top 500 firm.
Matt graduated from California State University, Chico with a BS in Civil Engineering and is a registered professional engineer.
Francisco Araujo - Senior Viticulurist
Francisco Araujo joined PPV in 2006 as Senior Viticulturist to provide technical support to all vineyard operations and help manage key viticultural practices. In the USA, Francisco has served as Viticulturist for Caymus Vineyards and most recently for Snows Lake Vineyard, an 800 acre vineyard located in Lake County.
Francisco obtained his Ingeniero Agrónomo degree from University of Zulia in Maracaibo, Venezuela. In 1982 he started as an extension officer for Centro Vitícola, an institution that provides technical support to grape growers in the Maracaibo Plain. In 1988 he obtained his MS in Horticulture from UC Davis and became coordinator of Centro Viticola. In 1992 he became Professor of Fruit Production at the Agronomy Faculty of University of Zulia. Francisco has published several papers out of his research work in vine water status and irrigation, tropical viticulture and tropical fruit production.
David Lese - Director, Property Budgeting & Management
David Lese joined PPV during the summer of 2005 as Director of Property Budgeting & Management. Mr. Lese previously served as a Finance Director at the Robert Mondavi Corporation focusing on its joint venture wineries (Opus One, Tenuta dell’ Ornellaia, Luce della Vite). Before that, he served different roles in the publishing industry, one as Group Publisher with CMP Media’s Healthcare Media Group and another as its Assistant Controller of Accounting Operations. Mr. Lese received a BA in Accountancy from the University of Notre Dame.
Mike Cybulski - Vineyard Development Manager
Mike Cybulski joined PPV in 2006 as Vineyard Development Manager,
responsible for overseeing all vineyard development activity at PPV’s
properties. Before joining PPV, Mr. Cybulski was Director of Vineyard
Operations at Pine Ridge Winery, a luxury Napa Valley wine producer. At
Pine Ridge he developed a new vineyard on Howell Mountain in Napa
Valley and implemented state-of-the-art viticultural practices to
improve wine quality.
Prior to joining Pine Ridge,
Mr. Cybulski was Vineyard Operations Manager at Robert Mondavi Winery,
where he managed several of the most well-known high-end vineyards in
the Napa Valley including the ToKalon and Opus One ranches in Oakville
and the Wappo Hill ranch in the Stag’s Leap District.
Mr. Cybulski graduated with honors from Napa Valley College in 1993
with an AS in Viticulture and completed significant coursework at the
Department of Viticulture and Enology at University of California,
Davis. Mr. Cybulski also received a BS in Business Administration from
Western Michigan University.
Tom Piper - Regional Vineyard Manager
Tom Piper joined PPV in 2004 as a member of the property management team. Mr. Piper spent the last 14 years at Fetzer Vineyards, where he was most recently the Director of Vineyard Operations. In this position he oversaw the development and management of 1,200 vineyard acres, all certified organic. Mr. Piper also spent 6 years in the Mendocino County Planning Commission Service as director for Mendocino County Resource Conservation District and Mendocino County Farm Bureau.
Mr. Piper received a BS in Animal Science from the University of Arizona. He also worked in the University of Arizona, Cooperative Extension Service. Mr. Piper has a Master Organic Farmer designation from California Certified Organic Farmers.
Ed Kelly - Regional Vineyard Manager
Ed Kelly joined PPV in April 2006 as the Napa County Regional Vineyard Manager, responsible for the management of existing vineyards and for the development of new properties in Napa County. Mr. Kelly obtained his degree in Plant Science, specializing in plant pathology, from University of California, Davis and worked for the California Department of Food and Agriculture, Mycology Department, in 1978. Much of his work with CDFA was in Napa and Sonoma Counties. Ed returned to University of California, Davis and earned his degree in Viticulture in 1980. Mr. Kelly began his viticultural career as a vineyard manager for Mt. Veeder Winery in 1982 and has since managed and consulted with many vineyards in the hillsides of Napa and Sonoma Counties. In addition to growing fine wine grapes, Mr. Kelly’s passion in viticulture has been the promotion and development of sustainable agricultural techniques. Mr. Kelly has also taught viticulture classes for the Napa Valley College and worked with many agricultural crops other than grapevines.
Ryan Gerhardt - Viticulturist
Ryan joined PPV in the summer of 2005 as a lead Viticulturist specializing in vineyard technology and information systems. He previously worked with Piña Vineyard Management in the areas of vineyard planning, development and installation as well as Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Manager. Previous to Piña, Ryan worked with Napa-based vineyard development and erosion control specialists, PPI Engineering. Ryan is a member of the Bay Area Automated Mapping Association, The Wine Country GIS users Group, The Napa County Vineyard Technical Group, The International Association of Landscape Ecology and the Association of Pacific Coast Geographers. Mr. Gerhardt earned a BA in Physical Geography and Cartography from Humboldt State University.
Bill Henri - Regional Vineyard Manager
Bill Henri joined PPV in 2004 as a Regional Vineyard Manager. Mr. Henri is a 25-year veteran of the wine industry with experience planning and executing a wide range of vineyard development and winery facility projects. Before leading the planning and management of PPV’s Santa Barbara vineyard projects in 2006, Mr. Henri played a key role in managing site evaluation, permit procurement and planting activities at several of PPV’s properties in Napa Valley and Sonoma County. Prior to joining PPV, Mr. Henri was Head of Grower Relations and Winemaker at Parducci Wine Estate. Mr. Henri previously worked at William Hill Winery, an ultra-premium wine producer in the Napa Valley, first as vineyard manager and later as a Vice President responsible for both vineyard operations and winery production. Through several vineyard consulting assignments Mr. Henri has worked in nearly all of California’s fine wine regions including Napa Valley, Sonoma County and the Central Coast.
Investment Management & Finance
Jeff Ottoboni - Fund Manager
Mr. Ottoboni has over eighteen years of experience in the wine industry, including various positions of increasing responsibility with two ultra premium producers as well as with E&J Gallo. In his most recent position prior to joining PPV, Mr. Ottoboni was President of the David Bruce Winery. Mr. Ottoboni received a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the University of Notre Dame and a JD from the University of California, Los Angeles. Mr. Ottoboni is a Certified Public Accountant and Member of the California State Bar.
Chris Millich - Fund Manager
Chris Millich spent 12 years with Northwest Airlines where he held several senior management positions including director of strategy and business development, director of product marketing, and general manager for planning and finance of the Pacific division’s air cargo unit. Prior to Northwest Airlines, Mr. Millich was a financial analyst at Fannie Mae. Mr. Millich received his MBA degree from Georgetown University, pursued graduate accounting studies at the University of St. Thomas, and received undergraduate degrees in economics and political science from the University of California, San Diego.
Ian Malone - Director, Vineyard Investment & Finance
Ian Malone joined PPV in 2003 as a member of the capital markets and finance team. Prior to joining PPV, Mr. Malone worked in the investment banking department of UBS Investment Bank. While at UBS, Mr. Malone worked on a variety of transactions, including mergers and acquisitions advisory assignments and equity and convertible debt offerings. Prior to UBS, Mr. Malone founded an Internet design and marketing firm specializing in the needs of legal and medical practices and small to medium-sized businesses. Mr. Malone graduated cum laude from Kenyon College, where he received a BA in Economics with a Minor in Philosophy. Mr. Malone also attended Oxford University (St. Catherine’s College).
Christian Whipple - Director, Vineyard Investment & Finance
Christian Whipple joined PPV in 2006 as Director of Vineyard Investment & Finance. Mr. Whipple was previously a Vice President for The Cypress Group, a private equity investment firm, responsible for investments in the lodging and leisure industries. Prior to that he was an Associate at DB Capital Partners, the former private equity arm of Deutsche Bank AG, where he completed a number of buy-out transactions. Mr. Whipple began his career as an Analyst in the investment-banking department of Credit Suisse First Boston, where he worked on a variety of mergers, acquisitions and capital raising assignments for companies.
Mr. Whipple graduated with an AB degree in Economics from Bowdoin College.
Peter Bartlett - Portolio Management
Peter Bartlett joined PPV in 2006 with a diverse background in real estate and investing. Peter previously served as Vice President of The Reliant Group, a private real estate fund manager focused on the multifamily sector. Prior to that, he worked with Highlands Management Group, a leading developer of high-end golf club residential communities. Before joining Highlands, Peter was with SKS Investments, where he was involved in acquiring and financing a one million square foot portfolio of office properties with institutional partners such as CalSTRS and Farallon Capital Management.
Peter also spent five years living and working in China, and studied Mandarin Chinese at Beijing University. From 1996 to 1999, Peter was based in Beijing for Cummins Engine Company, where his responsibilities included the implementation of a $50 million manufacturing joint venture.
Peter received a BA with distinction in International Relations from the University of Pennsylvania, and earned an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Independent Directors
Michael Kahn
Michael Kahn is a partner in the litigation department of Folger Levin & Kahn LLP, a San Francisco law firm. Mr. Kahn is a graduate of the University of California at Los Angeles (BA, magna cum laude, 1970, Phi Beta Kappa) and Stanford University (M.A. and J.D., 1973). At Stanford Law School, Mr. Kahn was the Irving Hellman, Jr. Scholar and the book review editor of the Stanford Law Review. After law school, he served as a law clerk to Judge Ben C. Duniway, United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Mr. Kahn has been a member of the California Bar since 1973. A significant percentage of Mr. Kahn's litigation practice involves federal and state court proceedings throughout the United States. Mr. Kahn has been involved in several landmark cases, including U.S. v. Stringfellow in which he was lead trial counsel and City of Atascadero v. Merrill Lynch in which he represented the "Killer Bs."
Mr. Kahn is the author of a number of articles and reports on litigation practice, Supreme Court history and other legal subjects. Mr. Kahn's work has been published in law reviews, magazines, legal anthologies and scholarly journals.
Mr. Kahn has been chosen for numerous government appointments, including being named by the California State Senate to be a member of the Senate Commission studying Proposition 13. Mr. Kahn also served as Task Force Chairperson for Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi's Environmental Insurance Task Force in 1993-94. In 1999 Mr. Kahn was appointed by the Governor of the State of California, Gray Davis, to be a member of the Commission on Judicial Performance, which he chaired in 2001; his current term extends through 2007. Mr. Kahn was also appointed by Governor Davis to be Chair of the Electricity Oversight Board as well as Chairperson of the Governor's Clean Energy Green Team. In January 2001, Governor Davis appointed Mr. Kahn to the California ISO Board of Governors, which he chaired until March 2005.
Mr. Kahn has served on numerous non-profit and private boards of directors. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of a private biotechnology company and a private environmental waste disposal company.
Jack Daniels
Jack Daniels began his career in the wine industry in 1964 in the wine division of an international wine and spirit marketing and sales company. In 1978 Mr. Daniels co-founded Wilson Daniels Ltd. (WDL) and sold his interest in 2003. Over the 25 years developing Wilson Daniels, the company became recognized as one of the premier wine marketing and sales companies in the country. WDL focused on limited production, high-end, and single vineyard designated wines from around the world. The company commenced an exclusive importing arrangement with the heralded Domaine de la Romanee Conti (DRC) in 1979, for which the company still holds the rights today. At the time of Mr. Daniels' departure from the company it represented over 40 wine properties from every significant grape growing region in the world, marketed the wines in all 50 states and 30 foreign markets, and had 9 offices throughout the U.S. with over 100 employees in its headquarters in St. Helena, California.
Currently, Mr. Daniels has consultation roles with Wilson Daniels Ltd., a prominent Italian wine family developing vineyards in California and a new, start-up high end Cabernet producer in the Napa Valley. Mr. Daniels is also acting as an advisor and Board Director of a company importing wines from Argentina, Chile and Australia.
Mr. Daniels has served on the St. Helena City Council, the Queen of the Valley Hospital Foundation Board, and has been a speaker and panel member for many wine industry marketing and sales forums, nationally and internationally.
In 1999, Mr. Daniels was listed by Robb Report as one of the 10 most influential people to watch for in the wine business. Others noted were Robert Mondavi, Robert Parker, Christian Moueix, and Corinne Mentzelopoulos of Chateau Margaux, to name a few. Also, in 1999, Mr. Daniels was awarded a medal by the French government and the prestigious Order of the Merite de Agricole for his contribution to French agriculture.
Allan Martin
Allan Martin is a Partner at New England Pension Consultants (NEPC) and has thirty-eight years of investment experience. He manages NEPC’s West Coast consulting services from his office in Redwood City, California, and is responsible for NEPC’s Western Region client service and marketing. He is also a member of NEPC’s compliance, due diligence and technology committees.
Prior to joining NEPC, Allan worked for four years at Dresdner RCM Global Investors in San Francisco as Managing Director/Principal, Global Marketing and Client Services. While there, he managed the global marketing activities of DRCM, and played a lead role in the acquisition of RCM by Dresdner, and the subsequent repositioning of RCM to a global asset manager.
Prior to Dresdner RCM, Mr. Martin worked at Bankers Trust Company, in New York, for twenty-six years in various investment management, consulting, and trustee/master custody capacities. While at BT, he oversaw the establishment of the Passive Products Group, BT’s Investment Consulting Group and the Master Trust On-line Reporting activities. His last position at BT was Managing Director of the $400 Billion Global Retirement Services Group, the umbrella organization encompassing the full array of BT’s investment and administrative services for public and private pension and endowment funds. In the capacity as a major asset custodian, he helped establish the technology and information platform for the Independent Consultants Cooperative, the industry’s largest universe of actual manager performance information. He co-founded the ICC with Richard Charlton, NEPC’s president, in 1990.
Mr. Martin earned an M.B.A. in Finance/Operations Research from Stanford University in 1969, and a B.A. in Mathematics (cum laude) from Stanford in 1967. He is a member of Phi Beta Kappa and the Stanford Faculty Club.