‘I take this opportunity to tell you it is time for me to take my professional life forward after gaining invaluable experience and achieving various personal as well as organization milestones,’ he informs delWine. During his tenure, Aspri bagged several new wine portfolios globally, making it the closest and only potentially viable competitor to the leading importer, Brindco.
Although a bit hesitant about sharing his future plans, Sumedh did share that there were three offers he was considering-one of them involved relocating to Singapore. The choice of staying on in Mumbai had two possibilities-working within the beverage industry or working in a different industry. An ex F & B manager with JW Marriott during his last corporate assignment, he had started his own company Brandwagon which he merged with FineWinesNmore before moving to Aspri.
‘I am happy that the company is on a sound track for forging ahead since systems and the team are well set now,’ he said while confirming that 20% increase was on the cards over wine sales of last year which has been estimated between 27,000-30,000 cases although skeptics in the industry don’t tire of claiming that the figures also acknowledged by delWine in the Top Ten 2012 list, seem to be much inflated.
Sumedh promises delWine to be the first to know about which option he exercises. Watch the Comments section in this article on his latest whereabouts. A professional that he is, Mandla conceded that though he had resigned 3 months ago, professional propriety did not justify his leaking the information prematurely. In fact, he attended the Sicilian Masterclass at ITC Grand Central on January 24 and was an active participant in the tasting-but without letting out any hint of an impending change.
Since his joining Aspri, both the directors Jackie Mathai in Mumbai and Arun Kumar in Delhi have been looking after the business hands-on and will need to look after his responsibilities directly till they find a suitable replacement, says Mandla.
We wish Sumedh a successful career ahead, hoping he stays on in the wine industry in order to use his experience and passion to promote the wine culture and the resulting sales.
Tags: Sumedh Singh Mandla, Aspri Spirits Pvt Ltd, Brindco, Brandwagon, FineWinesNmore, Sicilian Masterclass, ITC, Grand Central, Jackie Mathai, Arun Kumar |