Jess Jackson's legacy(4)
Jackson took gambles with his own money that paid off time and time again, said Scott, who is now a principal in The Vincraft Group in Sonoma.
Jackson's intuitive business sense led him to raise prices while other wineries were dropping prices, and to tighten up operations and reduce costs while others were focused on expanding.
“There was certainly no one better at the game strategically than Jess,” said George Rose, former vice president of corporate communications for the company.
Jackson succeeded in compiling a portfolio of luxury wine brands, letting each winery operate as a distinct brand with its own winemaker and vineyards, while consolidating the back-office functions such as accounting and human resources at the company's headquarters.
“He was a pioneer in acquiring and developing a massive wine business, and kept it private, and wasn't one of the guys who sold out to one of the big companies," said Bill Foley, owner of Foley Family Wines in Sonoma.
Foley, who purchased Sebastiani Winery in 2008 and Chalk Hill Winery last year, is assembling a fast-growing wine empire of his own.
“I'm trying to emulate Jess Jackson. I'm trying to set up my organization like he did,” Foley said.
The big test for Jackson's company will be how it performs in the long run without him.
“You can never replace Jess Jackson. What you can hope to do is get a close second,” said Mario Zepponi, founder of Santa Rosa wine industry consultancy Zepponi & Co.
Former executives of the company said they have confidence in the company's leadership, including Banke, a former land use attorney who once argued before the U.S. Supreme Court, and Hartford and Tigner, who each have two decades of experience working with Jackson.
“The reality is that Barbara Banke is a very capable businesswoman,” said Clay Gregory, who was president of Jackson Family Wines until 2009. “Jackson Family Wines is not going to stray from Jess's vision in the short run.”
