Described as someone who can’t help but look to the future, Sir Graeme Avery is the hands-on president of the family-owned and -operated Sileni Estates winery which distributes wine to more than 80 markets from its Hawke’s Bay headquarters.
Founded in 1997, and motivated by the passion he and his wife Lady Gabrielle developed during regular visits to Europe, Sileni Estates has grown from a production of just 4000 cases a year to almost 800,000 cases today – making it one of the country’s fastest-growing wineries.
While Sir Graeme maintains ownership, his two sports-minded sons are very much involved, with Nigel, a former Olympic and Commonwealth Games weightlifter, as chief executive and Simon, a former professional surfer, as Asia-Pacific manager.
Indeed, the Avery family has a proud sporting and business history. Sir Graeme was an athlete and long-serving athletics administrator who was instrumental in establishing New Zealand’s national training centre for high-performance sport in Auckland. As chairman of the Hawke’s Bay Community Fitness Trust Centre he is now overseeing the construction of a new $25m sports centre.
Recognised with a knighthood in 2014 for his contribution to business, sport and food and wine tourism, Sir Graeme made his initial fortune by turning the medical publishing firm Adis International into a $100 million business. He was inducted into the New Zealand Business Hall of Fame in 2014.
Photo: Alphapix