Ste. Michelle Wine Estates (SMWE), the largest winery in the Pacific Northwest, announced the hiring of Shawn Conway as chief executive officer. Conway will start at the company effective immediately.

“Shawn is a proven leader and the ideal person to help us achieve our strategic vision of sustainable, profitable growth,” said Brian Vos, a SMWE board member and retired CEO of The Wine Group, one of the largest wine companies in the U.S. (Read the full press release.)

Conway brings 30 years of experience to the company across a variety of consumer product categories. He spent the previous 12 years at San Francisco-based Peet’s Coffee, the last two as CEO. Prior to that, Conway served as Peet’s chief supply chain officer, chief operating officer, and chairman of Peet’s Coffee, China.

Before joining Peet’s, Conway was vice president of operations (2005-2010) and vice president of finance and IT (2002-2005) at SKYY Spirits, now known as Campari Group. The company owns a diverse group of brands in the beverage alcohol industry. From 2001 to 2002, he was CFO at THAP Group, a company that delivers health and wellness management services.

From 1998 to 2001, Conway was CFO and vice president of operations at Gateway Learning Corp, an educational products company. Conway has a Bachelor of Science in commerce with a major in finance from Santa Clara University.

“Ste. Michelle has long been one of the most admired and respected wine companies in the world, with a portfolio of iconic and renowned wines,” Conway said in the press release from SMWE. “I look forward to working with this very talented and dedicated team to bring an unparalleled wine experience to our existing customers and extend our reach to the next generation of wine lovers.”

SMWE’s executive leadership team will remain in place and report to Conway. The leadership team was announced last October after the company realigned into three commercial divisions when former CEO David Dearie resigned. Dearie spent two years at the helm of the company.

For the last five months, SMWE’s leadership team has reported to a three-person board, comprised of Vos and individuals at Sycamore Partners. Sycamore is a New York-based private equity firm that purchased SMWE in 2021 for $1.3B in cash.

Conway is Ste. Michelle’s third leader since Ted Baseler retired from the company in 2018 after 17 years as CEO and president. Jim Mortensen served as CEO from 2018 to 2020.

SMWE has been going through other recent changes. In 2022, the company listed its flagship Woodinville property for sale in whole or in part to generate money to reinvest in the brand. Shortly before Dearie’s resignation, SMWE purchased Willamette Valley’s A to Z Wine Works and Rex Hill. This purchase made SMWE the largest winery in both Washington and Oregon.

Last month, Ste Michelle announced a 5% reduction in its workforce. Juan Muñoz-Oca, the company’s chief winemaker, left the company at the beginning of this month to become chief winegrower at California’s O’Neill Vintners and Distillery.

SMWE includes numerous brands in Washington (Chateau Ste. Michelle, Columbia Crest, 14 Hands, Col Solare, Spring Valley, and others), Oregon (Erath, A to Z Wine Works, and Rex Hill), and California (Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars and Patz & Hall). Altogether, Ste. Michelle makes approximately 7.3M cases of wine annually.