Timothée Boltz joins Grands Chais, Philippe Rivet heads to Jean Geiler

imothée Boltz joined Les Grands Chais de France (GCF) at the beginning of October. Next year, he is due to take over operations management at companies in the Loire Valley, Jura and Côtes du Rhône controlled by the Alsace-based group. Until now, Boltz’s career had focused on the co-operative sector, partly in Switzerland and more broadly speaking in Alsace. He worked for Wolfberger starting in mid-2022 then moved to Jean Geiler in Ingersheim (Haut-Rhin) as director, where he steered the winery’s merger with the Orschwiller and Hunnawihr co-operatives in 2022 and 2024.

At the start of November, Boltz was succeeded by Philippe Rivet, whose career has primarily involved Deutz in Champagne and Joseph Drouhin in Burgundy. He spent nearly twenty years at Drouhin, pouring his energy into developing sales and marketing. He faces the same challenge at Jean Geiler. With 840 hectares farmed by 264 co-operative members and revenue totalling €27 million, the co-operative is currently the fifth-largest Alsace wine company, with one third of its sales Crémant.