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Gilardi & Co., recently voted the top claims administrator for the third year, announced the appointment of Aideen Gaffney as Director of Client Relations and Strategic Initiatives. Ms. Gaffney, an attorney with more than two decades of experience serving the legal industry, will focus her expertise on the further development of client relationships, and the facilitation of Gilardi's strategic direction and services. Prior to joining Gilardi, Ms. Gaffney practiced law for several years and then shifted her professional focus, working with both in-house and outside counsel in the fields of settlement administration, eDiscovery, legal research, and data breach.
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[caption id="attachment_97641" align="alignleft" width="173"] Abigail Green Ryan[/caption]
Terra Firma Global Partners, announced that Abigail Greene Ryan has joined the firm as a Sales Associate and will be based out of the San Rafael office in Marin County. Originally from San Francisco and Mill Valley, Ms. Greene Ryan started her real estate brokerage career in 2010 with Terra Nova Global Properties in Chapel Hill, North Carolina until relocating back to the Bay Area. Prior to returning to real estate, she has been brokering art and antiques, specializing in vintage advertising, but will now focus on leveraging her experience buying and selling homes in San Francisco and the East Coast.Sports
The Sonoma Stompers officially named Roman Martinez the team’s new pitching coach. While the Stompers have not employed a pitching coach on their official roster this season, the veteran from the Dominican Republic has helped out Stompers pitchers throughout the year, including visits to the mound during games. Mr. Martinez injured his elbow pitching in August and will miss the rest of the season. Although he does hope to be ready in time to pitch this winter, in the meantime, he’ll be helping his teammates in a race for the Pacific Association second half championship. He previously pitched in the Seattle Mariners organization, where he spent six seasons primarily as a reliever. He reached Double-A West Tennessee in 2008, going 2-2 with a 4.78 ERA in 37 appearances. After his time with the Mariners, Martinez played in the American Association and the North American Baseball League before joining the Stompers this season. Wine
[caption id="attachment_97643" align="alignleft" width="202"] Mindy Joyce[/caption]
Mindy Joyce has joined The Wine Foundry in a new role as Brand Strategy Coach for commerce clients. With the addition of Ms. Joyce, The Wine Foundry can now add D-to-C marketing and sales coaching as a benefit to commerce clients who already work with the company for its array of services including fruit sourcing, label design, and e-commerce solutions. The Wine Foundry’s commerce clients, about 80 entrepreneurs, wine enthusiasts and vineyard owners, produce and sell their wines through the Napa-based company. Through marketing coaching, the wineries learn first-hand how to build a luxury brand and the practical steps to take in order to increase sales through e-commerce. With a solid 17-year track record in marketing for wine, travel and luxury brands, Ms. Joyce has worked with numerous luxury brands including American Express Digital, Lot18, Napa Valley Festival del Sole, San Sebastian Food, Tourism New Zealand and Wines of Bordeaux. She is also the founder of WineryCritic; A resource travelers can trust for recommendations on wineries to visit. She is on track to complete her WSET Diploma of Wine & Spirits in 2015 and was named winner of the 2014 Great Wine Capitals Blogger Contest.
[caption id="attachment_97644" align="alignright" width="173"] John Grant[/caption]
John Grant has been appointed Chief Operating Officer for The Hess Collection winery, overseeing sales, marketing and business operations from the winery’s Mount Veeder home. He will work closely with Timothy Persson, The Hess Collection Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Grant was most recently the Managing Director for Treasury Wine Estates Beringer portfolio, after serving in senior global marketing and sales roles at TWE. A native Australian, Mr. Grant was President of Constellation Wine Australia, and also served as Executive Vice President of Marketing for Kendall Jackson Wine Estates, where he was later appointed President, overseeing core wine brands and leading both acquisitions and the revitalization of several wineries, focusing on “affordable luxury”. Sales at key business units tripled during his tenure. He began his career with Foster’s Brewing and Toohey’s/Lion Nathan, Australia. He attended Harvard Business School in the Program For Management Development, and holds a BS degree from Monash University in Melbourne. He has served as a board member of the Wine Institute and Wine Australia, and has twice been named Australian Marketer of The Year