In 1994, the sound of the bell marking the opening of a trading day on Wall Street signaled an unprecedented moment for the Chilean wine industry. Viña Concha y Toro became the first winery in the world to have its shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange. Behind that move was more than just a financial decision: it was the conviction that a company founded in Chile could compete in the world’s big leagues.
Eduardo Guilisasti Gana knew the business from the ground up. He joined the winery in 1978 in the sales department, working alongside his father and developing the distribution network in Chile. In 1989, he took over as general manager and, from that position, oversaw the company’s transformation from a well-known winery in Chile into a wine-producing enterprise with a presence in markets across five continents.
That international focus was reflected in the expansion of its brands, new partnerships, and a strategy that made its Chilean origins part of its global identity.
Three decades after that bell rang in New York, the sound seems to be returning in a different way: in the popping of a bottle that can be heard in Chile and around the world. Between these two sounds lies the story of an executive who started out selling wine in his homeland and learned to look beyond its borders.
