Yountville, Calif.—Steve Burns will replace John Gillespie as the president of the non-profit trade association Wine Market Council. Burns is the owner of a marketing, public relations and strategic planning firm and former executive director of the Washington Wine Commission where he served from 1996 to 2004. Gillespie is retiring at the end of this month after leading the council for 20 years.

According to the statement announcing the change, Burns began a career in the wine industry in 1990 as the international marketing manager at the Wine Institute. From 1984 to 1989, Burns was special assistant to Gov. George Deukmejian, participating in California's expansion in opening trade and investment offices around the world.

“Steve’s record of strong and successful leadership of wine trade associations makes him the perfect match for Wine Market Council,” Gillespie said in the statement. “The growth and success of Wine Market Council over the years has been driven by a ‘hands on’ board of wine industry leaders who value ongoing market research and its benefits to our membership.  I know they will continue to support both Steve and the council’s mission in the years to come.”

Wine Market Council provides its proprietary research to association members only. Upcoming research projects include the Annual High Frequency Wine Consumer Survey with a Special Topic on Premiumization (December 2017), the Occasional Wine Drinker Survey (January 2018), and The Changing World of Retail Wine Shopping Survey (March 2018).