Lecturer, Wine Business

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- Cornell University Johnson Graduate School of Management - M.B.A. in Finance & Accounting
- Cornell University - B.S. in Agricultural Economics
- Direct to consumer marketing for the wine industry
- Digital marketing
- International wine tourism
- Teaching the next generation of wine industry professionals
Ron Scharman is CEO of Astra Digital Marketing Services, headquartered in Napa, California, a full-service digital marketing agency dedicated to the wine industry. He has been an instructor for 5 years at Sonoma State’s Wine Business Institute, where he teaches courses in Direct to Consumer Marketing and eCommerce for the Wine Industry. Prior to Astra, he was COO of Chatterbox Wine Marketing and VinoVisit.com, Napa-based companies which offered digital marketing, relationship-based wine telesales, visitor reservation services, and other DTC marketing services. Previously, for 7 years he was President of eWinery Solutions, a leading provider of complete DTC wine eCommerce, POS, and CRM software for wineries. Prior to that, he was COO for New Vine Logistics, a Napa-based DTC wine fulfillment company, and served as CEO of the Morrell Wine Group in New York, as well as holding major COO and CEO positions with several national specialty retail chains. He also spent 7 years in investment banking in New York City with major financial institutions. Earlier in his career, following his MBA studies, he also spent 2 years in the Peace Corps in the Philippines, and 2 years working for a Japanese trading company in Tokyo, Japan.
- Winning Social Marketing Strategies & Tactics for Driving Sales - January 2018, DTC Symposium
- Digital Marketing for the Wine Industry - November 6, 2017 Winery Marketing and Tourism Conference
- Why Digital Marketing for Wineries Matters Now More Than Ever - Astra Blog, October 2017
- What is the Value of a Winery Email - Astra Blog, November 2016
- Why Social Media Matters - Astra Blog, September 2016