Ridgeview’s Tamara Roberts named CEO of the Year

Tamara won the accolade at the highly contested 2023 Sussex Business Awards.

The inspirational CEO has been a leading strength in her family’s international, award-winning English sparkling wine journey and a proud pioneering force in the English wine industry.

Founded in 1995, Ridgeview was one of the first wineries devoted to the production of English sparkling wine of what is now a thriving industry.

At a glittering ceremony at the Grand Hotel in Brighton, Tamara was commended by the judges, who said: “The winner stood out as an exemplary leader, steering the company with vision, diligence and strategic action and continues to be at the heart of the business with innovation driving the company towards a sustainable and profitable future. A firm believer in the well-being of the staff and implementing progressive strategies to ensure the team feels valued, included, and motivated.”

In the new category for 2024, CEO of the Year was sponsored by Ignata Finance and was a hotly contested category which included Sussex business nominees Adam Stoud from Paxton, Bankim Chandra from Dotsquares, Carina Bauer from Imex Group and Richard Lee from Paula Rosa Manhattan – all from an array of fantastic, flourishing Sussex Businesses.

Tamara commented: “Receiving the CEO of the Year award in the Sussex Business Awards is truly an honour and a testament to the collective efforts of our incredible team.  Together we have created a wonderful culture in which we can embrace challenges as well as celebrate our successes and this award inspires us to continue striving for excellence in everything we do.”

Tamara’s career began with obtaining a Degree in Law and Accountancy at King’s College London. She then completed her chartered accountancy qualification, working in the London financial services industry. In 2004 Tamara took the decision to join Ridgeview to grow their family business, originally as General Manager and then promoted to CEO within 10 years in 2014. Tamara oversaw the growth of production in that time from 25,000 bottles per annum to 500,000 bottles, with plans to double sales over the next 5 years. Tamara is responsible for the financial management of the Ridgeview as well as setting and implementing the strategy across all other areas from grape to glass.

Highly active in the English wine industry, Tamara was previously a director of the national bodies Wines GB and the Wine & Spirits Trade Association. Tamara is now a Governor of Plumpton College, which specialises in training the English Wine Industry, and on the Business Advisory Board of Sussex University. In 2020 she became the first English wine professional to become President of the prestigious International Wine and Spirit Competition.

Tamara is very respected within the local Sussex business community. As a testament to Tamara’s experience, professionalism, and reputation she was awarded Sussex Businessperson of the Year in the 2018 Sussex Business Awards and the Dynamic Award in the Women in Business Dynamic Awards 2022. Sussex CEO of the Year is now testimony to her success at Ridgeview and her respect in the wider Sussex Business Community.

With ambitious growth plans to double Ridgeview’s production, Tamara’s vision is to focus on quality and sustainability while increasing brand awareness for growth in sales, tourism and export which currently sits at 15 countries around the globe. Under Tamara’s guidance, with her passion for sustainability, Ridgeview has recently been accredited as a B Corp, at the time one of only 25 wineries in the globe. Tamara is passionate about creating Ridgeview as a wonderful and ethical place to work with respect to client, customer, and community relationships.

In 2018 Ridgeview made history when they became the first English winery to gain the global accolade of ‘International Winemaker of the Year’ in the International Wine & Spirit Competition. Ridgeview’s award-winning sparkling wines can be found at number of quality restaurants, hotels, and speciality resellers across the country as well as direct from Ridgeview and their onsite shop at the vineyard which is open seven days a week. Ridgeview’s acclaimed restaurant the Rows & Vine is open throughout the year for visitors to sip and savour stunning seasonal menus perfectly paired alongside their award-winning wines, the perfect unique location for celebrations with friends, family, and colleagues.

For more information please visit:

www.ridgeview.co.uk