Lay & Wheeler hires Amanda Skinner as commercial strategy director
Lay & Wheeler, one of the UK’s top fine wine merchants, has appointed Amanda Skinner as commercial strategy director. She will report directly to MD James Kowszun.
Skinner (pictured) joins from Private Cellar, where she has worked since 2008. Reflecting on her time there, she said she focused on, “selling fine wine and educating others in the appreciation of fine wine”.
Her efforts in launching education programmes for professional women and, more recently, the under-thirties, have been widely recognised.
With 40 years in the industry, Skinner’s career began in 1985 at Château de Saran with Moët & Chandon. In 1986, she joined John Armit, contributing to its growth over two decades. A family move to Norfolk in 2005 ended this chapter, and she spent two years at Lay & Wheeler helping to reorganise the business ahead of its sale.
In her new role, Skinner will focus on building client partnerships and leading the company’s educational and experiential activities to support its customer-focused strategy.
“I am very excited to have been asked to join Lay & Wheeler at this important time in its long history,” said Skinner. “There is a real ‘start-up’ feel in the business in terms of energy, excitement and ambition for the future, all with 170 years of heritage and strong foundations.”
This appointment is one of several recent changes at Lay & Wheeler, which also named Kowszun as MD in June.
On Skinner’s appointment, Kowszun added: “I am delighted to have persuaded Amanda to bring her talent, experience and brilliant attitude to Lay & Wheeler. She will play a key role in positioning us for future success.”
In addition, Alice Cave was also promoted to sales director in June, overseeing global sales efforts with a focus on high-net-worth clients. Meanwhile, Catherine Jaën MW, wine buyer since 2020, was recently promoted to buying director and Robert Mathias MW, the world’s youngest Master of Wine, joined as a senior wine buyer.
Jemma Grant has also been promoted to wine buyer, focusing on classic regions and English wines. The buying team will report to Andrew Shaw, wine director at Coterie Holdings, who joined from Marks & Spencer in March.
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