Michaela K. Rodeno
Bank Director
Silicon Valley Bank
Chief Executive Officer
St. Supéry Vineyards & Winery
Michaela Rodeno, St. Supéry's dynamic CEO, is one of the leading women in the California wine industry and a strong advocate of California wine issues. She is responsible for managing all the St. Supéry Vineyards & Winery’s activities from strategic planning, grape growing and wine production, to finance, new product development, marketing and sales. November 2008 is Michaela’s 20th anniversary with the company serving as the first and only CEO in the winery’s history. No other woman at a major California winery has served in the top role longer.
Michaela's life is as wine-focused as her career. As co-founder of Women for WineSense, a national organization promoting wine as part of a healthy, balanced lifestyle, Michaela continues a long history of involvement in industry-wide issues. She served on the boards of California’s Wine Institute and the Napa Valley Vintners in the early 1990s. She is a founding director of the Wine Market Council, an organization that supports marketing campaigns for wine with affordable market research. She served as chairman of the Meritage Association from 1999-2005. Michaela has been a director of Silicon Valley Bank since 2001, where she has served on the Audit, Finance and Loan committees, and currently chairs the Compensation committee.
In 1973, six months after Michaela arrived in Napa Valley, the region was abuzz with the news of Moët-Hennessy’s (now LVMH) plans to invest $8 million in a new winery that would eventually be known as Domaine Chandon. “Moët-Hennessy was the first French company to invest in California wine, and it sent a message to the world that Napa Valley was an important wine region,” says Michaela. “With my sole talent, fluent French, and desire to learn more about wine, I knew that I had to get involved with this venture.” Through persistent networking, within three weeks Michaela was introduced to John Wright, Domaine Chandon’s president. Impressed with her drive and willingness to learn, Wright hired her as the second employee at the new winery.
Michaela learned important lessons from him that inform her successful management style today. “John didn’t believe in hierarchy and maintained a flat, door-less organization,” says Michaela. “At St. Supéry there are no office doors. I encourage open discussion, the free exchange of ideas and teamwork – I believe anything is possible if you have the desire to do it.”
Michaela was with Domaine Chandon for more than 15 years. The winery quickly established a reputation for quality and leadership in California sparkling wine, and Michaela rose to the position of vice president of marketing. Among other accomplishments, Michaela developed one of the first winery “clubs” in the industry, which grew to more than 100,000 members who received news from the winery, information on sparkling wines, and invitations to Chandon Club Events – but no direct sales, which were not yet legal. While working at the winery, she earned her M.B.A. in 1980 from the University of California, Berkeley.
As one of Napa Valley’s rare fluent French speakers, Michaela met every major French winemaker and winery proprietor who came to Domaine Chandon, and many did, eager to learn how the Möet-Hennessy venture was faring. One of them, Robert Skalli, was captivated by the Napa Valley and became determined to open a winery there. Convinced that Michaela’s business savvy, knowledge of the wine industry and successful track record was what he needed, Robert offered her the position of C.E.O. of his new enterprise in 1988.
During her tenure at St. Supéry, Michaela has carefully guided the winery onto the market and through a period of rapid growth. St. Supéry’s Napa Valley estate Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon, and meritage blends Élu and Virtú have earned critical acclaim and many awards for the winery, which is still growing into its eventual capacity of 130,000 cases. The single vineyard Cabernets and small production lot varietals, which are made primarily for visitors and the hugely successful wine clubs prove St. Supéry’s ability to make collectible wines. Known for its innovations in winemaking and commitment to consumer education, St. Supéry Vineyards & Winery is acknowledged as a must see winery for visitors to the Napa Valley. While the U.S., where it has a strong presence in top hotels and restaurants, accounts for 95% of sales, St. Supéry is enjoying notable success in the U.K., France, Switzerland, Canada and Asia.
Born a Navy officer’s daughter in Lakehurst, New Jersey, Michaela and her family moved countless times before settling in California when she was 12. Michaela earned a B.A. and M.A. in French Literature at University of California, Davis, where she also met her husband, a law student. “Gregory wanted to be a country lawyer, so in 1972 we moved to the Napa Valley where one of his classmates was working for the D.A.,” recalls Michaela. The young lawyer’s wife wound up working three part-time jobs, two at Napa Valley College where she oversaw the publication of its catalog and taught French, and one at Beaulieu Vineyards as the winery’s first female tour guide.
She lives on her family’s 25-acre vineyard planted to Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Grigio near the town of Oakville in the Napa Valley with her attorney husband Gregory; they have two children of wine-drinking age, Kate and John. The family also owns 40 acres of red Bordeaux varieties in Pope Valley in the Napa Valley appellation. Although nearly all of the family grapes are sold to Napa Valley wineries, the Rodenos produce a tiny amount (150 cases) of Sangiovese under their Villa Ragazzi label.