Bordeaux wines poach Crédit Agricole executive to head up their marketing board

ith the Bordeaux wine marketing board’s current director Fabien Bova, who has been with the organisation since July 2013, due to retire on March 1 next year, a recruitment process was launched last summer. On February 17, Anthony Jezegou will join the CIVB as part of the transitional management phase before fully taking over from his predecessor. The 46-year-old Breton graduated as an agricultural engineer from ESA Angers. He also holds the WSET 1 and has worked in the public sector. Since 2007, he was with the banking group Crédit Agricole where he has managed the wine department for the past thirteen years.

With a finely tuned understanding of economic issues within the wine industry, Jezegou is unlikely to be fazed by his new position. He will certainly have no lack of problems to solve in a bid to future-proof a wine region that is undergoing one of the worst crises in its history. He will be tasked with right-sizing vineyard acreage – Bordeaux has already removed 18,000 hectares of AOC vines over three years and there is talk of a further 5,500 ha. His other missions will include ensuring remunerative prices and implementing the road map defined by the board’s new chairman Bernard Farges, elected last July.

In the future, the board may introduce joint chairs, if the various industry strands agree to it. As the CIVB’s organic groups become regional groups, the topic of funding will also have to be examined. Declining sales entail reduced contributions by members and therefore a smaller budget to work with. Cancellation of the 2026 Bordeaux Fête le Vin is one example of cost-cutting.