On the eve of Precept Wine Brands’ public Grand Opening of their new Waterbrook Winery on Hwy 12 in Walla Walla, they announced today that Mike Williamson (CEO of Long Shadows Winery) has been hired as the new President and Chief Operating Officer of their Seattle-based wine company; now the largest privately owned wine company in Washington State.

“Mike is an incredible asset that any organization would want to have on their team. He brings a wealth of industry knowledge and background that will allow Precept to grow for years to come and achieve our desired goals. Mike fits in extremely well with the organization and adds to our strength at the Leadership level,” said Precept Wine Brands’ Founder and CEO, Andrew Browne.

As the first President and COO for Precept Wine Brands, Williamson will oversee the company’s day to day operations and direct reports from all department Senior Vice Presidents including: Accounting and Finance (Phil Kazanjian), Sales (Kirk Brewer), Winemaking and Operations (Ben Hummer), and Marketing, Public Relations and Retail Management (Alex Ootkin-Evans).

Williamson is no stranger to working with Andrew Browne and his founding partner, Dan Baty, having teamed up with the two when he joined Corus Brands, Inc. (Columbia Winery, Covey Run, Alice White) in 1998.

“I’m excited to work with Dan and Andrew again after all these years. They’ve built an incredible organization and I’m looking forward to playing a key role in its future growth and profitability,” said Williamson.