Lynne Sherriff MW Appointed IMW Chairman
Lynne Sherriff MW has been elected as Chairman of the Institute of Masters of Wine and will serve in the role for the next two years.
Lynne is an independent wine consultant based in London and was one of the first two South Africans to become Masters of Wine, in 1993.
She was unanimously elected to the post at the Institute’s Annual General Meeting at Vintners’ Hall in London and succeeds Dr. Josef “Pepi” Schuller MW, who stepped down after his two year-term in office.
The Institute was founded in 1955 and today has 289 members based in 23 different countries. It is the membership organisation of Masters of Wine and promotes educational and professional excellence in the wine community internationally. It delivers an education programme which prepares candidates for the rigorous annual Masters of Wine Examination and stages events which offer outstanding learning and professional development opportunities for the wine trade.
On formally accepting the post, Lynne outlined her commitment to continuing the significant work on internationalisation carried out by her predecessors.
“Membership of the Institute is a special honour and affords us many advantages in the world of wine. As Chairman, I intend to contribute to its continuing international success,” said Lynne.
“Pepi Schuller did an enormous amount in this area and leaves big shoes to fill. Maintaining and expanding our international presence will therefore be a priority for me and I look forward to working with the membership and our wider community of supporters to achieve this.”
On stepping down from office, Dr. Schuller said: “It was an enormous honour to be elected the first non-British Chairman of the Institute in 2008. Since then, both the membership and the community of students who aspire to be MWs has grown and I am very grateful to all those who have supported me in my work, sharing our passion and vision for excellence in wine.”
In addition to Lynne’s appointment, the Institute’s membership elected Jean-Michel Valette MW as Vice Chairman, Sarah Jane Evans MW as Deputy Vice Chairman and Laura Evans MW as Treasurer. Konstantinos Lazarakis MW, Christophe Macra MW and Philip Tuck MW were elected as new members of the Institute’s governing Council.