French wine legends Baron Philippe de Rothschild SA announced that new face will be taking the helm their wineries. Ariane Khaida was just appointed to the serve as Executive Director, Châteaux Wines according to a release from the vitners.
Khaida will succeed Bordeaux fixture Philippe Dhalluin in the role. The job description calls for her to manage the family’s estates: Château Mouton Rothschild, Château Clerc Milon, Château d’Armailhac, Domaine de Baronarques. When Khaida formally begans the job on July 1, 2020, she also earned a seat on the Board of Directors of Opus One, Almaviva and Baronarques.Ariane.
“My family and I express our deepest thanks to Philippe Dhalluin for all his wonderful work. Over the last 15 years, he has taken Mouton Rothschild and our other family châteaux to an unprecedented level of excellence and reputation,” said Philippe Sereys de Rothschild, Chairman and CEO of Baron Philippe de Rothschild SA in a statement. “He has also been successful in attracting and training the necessary talents to continue our unceasing quest for excellence.”
Khaida was not born into wine like many in the industry. Instead, she broke into the business after earning an engineering degree and then spending five years working for LVMH (whihc included two years as a leather buyer.)
In 2014, she broke the region’s gender wall when she became the first woman to head a major Bordeaux négociant house, Duclot. (For fun, she also has a pilot’s license—pretty badass!)
