Michael Osborn, CEO, Willamette Valley Vineyards

Earlier this week Willamette Valley Vineyards (NASDAQ: WVVI, WVVIP) announced Michael Osborn as the company’s new Chief Executive Officer. Osborn takes over from founder Jim Bernau, who stated in January that he would be stepping back as CEO. Bernau will continue as president and chairperson of the company.

Osborn, 56, is a native of Southern Oregon. After a period in the software industry, he launched Wine.com in Portland, Oregon in 1998.

Over the last 27 years, Osborn built Wine.com into the leading on-line wine retailer. Now he takes over WVVI, a publicly owned winery that has 10 tasting rooms in Oregon, Washington, and California.

“There’s only one Jim Bernau, and there’s only one chance that he’s retiring,” Osborn says of the opportunity to become CEO at WVVI. “We have similar management styles, and recruiting and attracting talent is a major part of the job, as well as producing quality wine.”

Before joining the company, Osborn did his research. At Wine.com, Osborn notes that a third of the company’s customers are Millennial generation or younger, a third are Gen-X, and a third are Baby Boomers or older. Osborn was impressed to see a similar demographic profile for buyers of WVVI wine.

“A really important thing as I did my research was just trying to understand, is this brand youthful or not?” Osborn says. “There are plenty of brands that are a bit stale. I’m happy to say that the Willamette Valley Vineyards’ customers at Wine.com fit that same profile of a third, a third, and a third.”

Osborn also researched where WVVI ranked in terms of Oregon

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