Neil Hadley MW elected chair of the Institute of Masters of Wine
Neil Hadley MW has become the first Australian to head the Institute of Masters of Wine
In his ‘day job’, Hadley is the general manager, export, for Clare Valley-based Taylors/Wakefield Wines, and lives in Sydney.
When he passed the MW exam in 1993, Hadley was the youngest MW at just 26 years of age.
He is the 55th head of the IMW, which administers the annual Master of Wine examinations. The term is two years. When he passed the MW exam in 1993, Hadley was the youngest MW at just 26 years of age. He was an Australian resident at the time; a few years later he became an Australian citizen.
Hadley has already had a distinguished career in wine marketing.
He is English-born and began his career in the UK wine trade, with retailers Lay & Wheelerin 1984. He spent time travelling and working throughout Australia’s vineyards and returned to the UK in 1987, to take a job in education with Grant’s of St James’s School of Wine.
A few years later he moved permanently to Australia where he distinguished himself as marketing manager for Rosemount Estate, followed by brand director for Penfolds and then group product development manager for Southcorp. A stint in New Zealand at Villa Maria followed, and he joined Taylors/Wakefield Wines 13 years ago.
Hadley has also been a wine show judge, especially committed to the Sydney International Wine Competition, where wine is judged alongside food.
