Wine academy MD finalist for BWASA awards

Marilyn Cooper, MD of the Cape Wine Academy, Cape Wine Masters Hennie Loubser and Dr Winifred Bowman and Margaret Fry.

The Most Influential Women in Business and Government Awards takes place in July 2009 in Johannesburg and Cape Town. The purpose of these awards is to recognise successful women entrepreneurs and women in the corporate world who are also role models to young women who want to enter the world of business whilst often facing adversity.

Gavin Dittmar, the chairman of the Cape Wine Academy Board says that Cooper started at the Cape Wine Academy in 1999 and took over as MD in 2004, personally rescuing the Cape Wine Academy from closure after 25 years in existence.

Cooper set about restructuring the academy into a streamlined operation and academic entity, whilst bringing together a consortium of new custodians, including a 25% holding by the Cape Wine Academy management, with the remaining 75% being made up of an empowerment group, wine producers, distributors, retailers, restaurateurs, and Cape Wine Masters. This diversity of stakeholders ensures, still today, that the interests of wine education in South Africa is fully represented by the vast spectrum of industry players.

2009 is a big year for Cooper as the Cape Wine Academy (CWA) celebrates its 30th birthday reaching an important landmark of having trained over 90,000 students within its 30 years of wine education prowess.

The greatest growth in students has occurred in tertiary education in such fields as Food & Nutrition, Hotel Management, Food & Beverage Service, Tourism and Chef Training. During 2008, over 3000 students, of whom 1900 were of colour, completed courses at 42 institutions nationally.

One of Cooper's greatest achievements to date is the Soweto Wine Festival now in its fifth year. She is responsible for the concept, launch and continued organising of the successful festival as it continues, year-on-year, to grow in all identified channels such as wine education and sales in the black consumer market; wine exhibitors to the festival; big brand sponsor participation, and visitor attendance now hitting the 5000 mark.

Concludes Dittmar, “Cooper is passionate about wine education. We are particularly inspired and encouraged by her dynamic approach to business, her professionalism, and her ability to provide the type of leadership that many aspire to, and only a few can execute.”