After 10 years of training with the SAS and the Navy seals and classified work in Bosnia and Mogadishu I decided I needed a more challenging career.

A chance meeting with winemaker David Powell, in a bar in Marrakesh (I am still not sure what he was doing there), I decided working for him would be as challenging as anything that working as a fortune of war soldier could present, and I was right.

Now after 3 years working as the New South Wales Sales Manager for Torbreck, I have taken over the role of National Sales Manager with the task of filling the position vacated by Andrew Guard.

After working many years in a number of Sydney’s top restaurants, a couple of years working in the winery for T’Gallant wines in Victoria and also working almost 6 years in and on premise sales role for Negociants Australia, the role meant looking after many of the most interesting and challenging of the Sydney wine cognoscenti - a group far more dangerous than any third world dictator.

Exposure to the great wines of the world through work, tastings, reading and travel and working vintages in Orange, Mornington and the Barossa have put me in good stead to have a solid understanding of most aspects of the wine industry and how to best deal with all the issues that make my job so interesting and fun.

Working closely with our state managers in Victoria and South Australia and top class distributers in Queensland and Western Australia creates lots of opportunities to travel the country and understand what is different and unique about each market, and realizing that at the end of the day its all about quality wine aligned to personal and personable service and the friendships made over a glass or two or even three of great wine.

I couldn’t imagine a better job.