Emerging Leaders' Program: Shaping the Future of Victorian Spirits

The next chapter of Victoria's thriving spirits industry is underway. SVA’s Emerging Leaders' Program (ELP) is a unique 32-week journey designed to transform talented professionals into industry leaders. The ELP is being led by Matt Gaffney of Enindico, who has been leading various Emerging Leaders’ Programs since 2015. Thanks to generous support from Agriculture Victoria, the ELP has been made available to participants with a program fee that is only a fraction of the actual cost.

The ten participants come from a mix of Melbourne and regional Victorian distilleries, plus a Melbourne distributor for a number of Victorian distilleries.

The participants have been put into two Project Teams and, as part of contributing to the implementation of the Victorian Distilled Spirits Strategy 2025-2030, they have started working on the development of:

- A Distilleries of Victoria Tourism Trail Strategy to 2030 and Engagement Plan for 2027

- A Distilleries of Victoria International Growth Toolkit for use by Victorian distillers.

The participants will gather on a Tuesday each month from June to November at a mix of Melbourne and regional Victorian distilleries to hear from industry leaders, to build relationships with other ELP participants and to work in their Project Teams on their Group Projects. The participants will also have a trio of one-on-one career coaching sessions to help them sharpen their professional trajectory.

The Group Projects will be presented to an expert panel immediately before the celebratory graduation dinner in December. The key documents developed by the Project Teams will then be made accessible to all Victorian spirits industry participants on the SVA website.