Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/230154
[MR] I didn't mind being the boss. I didn't like being called the boss; it's not the same thing. It's the word that bothers me more than anything else. I'm good with leading people, but I don't like bossing them around because I don't like being bossed around. [V&WM] Was that a problem as a CEO? [ MR ] Well, sometimes it doesn't work very well. Some people really need to have direct orders because that's how they understand the world. Suggestions, hints – they don't get through. [V&WM] The first part of your memoir, dealing with the creation of Domaine Chandon, is subtitled "Act 1: Startups Are Such Fun," and it really does sound like fun. How could that be? After all, you were working for a major player in Moet & Chandon. [ MR ] Oh, sure, but they were a long way away, and making a transatlantic phone call in those days – I mean you just didn't pick up the phone and call Paris. You wrote letters, which took forever to arrive. So communications were slow and Moet was very hands-off. That's why I started reporting back to Paris. I thought, maybe we ought to tell them what we're doing. [ V&WM] Did you get a master's degree in French literature from wine-centric UC Davis, knowing you'd be able to walk into a job at Domaine Chandon someday? MICHAELA RODENO'S RESUME + Birthplace: Lakehurst, N.J. + Professional Background: 21 years as CEO of St. Supéry Vineyards & Winery, Napa Valley; eight years as vice president, marketing, of Domaine Chandon. Rodeno's memoir is available through Amazon.com. think going to go far, like Claudia Schubert (president of Napa-based Diageo Chateau & Estate Wines division), but I think that the corporate mentality has something to do with it. The other reason is consolidation. There are fewer independent wineries than there were, and they're being absorbed into these big organizations that have a different mindset. I think it takes a certain amount of open-mindedness and willingness to do things differently, to hand a business off to a woman. [V&WM] I didn't see a lot – actually, anything at all – in the book about discrimination you faced as a woman, which seems strange considering you were working in a male-dominated industry. [ MR ] It didn't really happen; that's why it's not there. I get asked that a fair amount. I usually manage to dredge up a couple of poor examples, i.e. being mistaken for a wife rather than a business colleague. Nothing that couldn't be dealt with. [V&WM] One thing you do talk about was the challenge of assuming the role of "boss." Talk about that a little bit. 138 V I N EYA R D & WINE RY M ANAGEM ENT | Jan - Feb 2014 + Education: Bachelor's degree in French and master's degree in French literature, UC Davis; MBA, UC Berkeley Haas School of Business. + Current Position: Owner, with husband Gregory Rodeno, Villa Ragazzi Winery. + Personal: A horse enthusiast, Rodeno rode hunterjumpers with her husband until about five years ago, albeit over "very low fences." She also has a prized dawn redwood tree. Take the challenge. We dare you! details: NorthCoastWineChallenge.com w w w. v wm m e d i a . c o m