Terry & Mary Peabody
Owners
Terry Peabody is Chairman and owner of the company, providing the direction, resources, business acumen and determination for growth. By any measure, East Coast American born Terry is one of Australia’s most successful entrepreneurs with his success in building waste management and transportation companies and business interests extending from the USA and Canada to Europe, Asia Australia and New Zealand.
Craggy Range’s renowned, award-winning Craggy Range restaurant is one of Mary’s focuses. Mary Peabody has an extensive background in the hospitality business in Canada and Australia. Fine food and wine were very much a part of her upbringing with Mary conceiving the idea for the restaurant as a beautiful setting in which to share a memorable meal with friends and family.
Mary-Jeanne Hutchinson
Director
As a Director of Craggy Range and with intimate knowledge of the wines, Mary-Jeanne travels throughout the world conducting tastings and wine dinners. Her background in events and hospitality gives her the advantage of being able to work closely with chefs, matching menus with wines to present both the food and wine at its best. Mary-Jeanne has four children, lives in Brisbane, Australia with her husband but calls Hawke’s Bay her second home.
David Peabody
Director
Director David Peabody has been instrumental in the development of Craggy Range and entrenched himself in the world of wine when he completed the first Craggy Range vintage back in 1999. David, who spends his time between Hawke’s Bay and Manila, is also involved in the Management and Directorship of a number of corporations as part of the Peabody family’s commercial holdings and is a Director at Top Draw Animation.
Craig Sims
Chief Executive Officer
Craig Sims joined Craggy Range as CEO in May 2022.
As CEO, Craig is pleased to be both custodian and part of the team helping to realise the Peabody family aspiration of creating an iconic New Zealand Winery that will ultimately sit alongside the great wines of the world.
He joins Craggy Range from an extensive career in financial services across Asia-Pacific, Australia and New Zealand. Craig held numerous executive leadership roles spanning retail and business banking, HR, marketing, technology and operations, and led several transformations, mergers and acquisitions.
As a leader, Craig focuses on taking care of the people in his team and being part of high-performing, engaged groups. For a team to function at their best, he believes it is essential to have a unifying common goal and ensure people are well supported along the way.
He also believes iconic brands like Craggy Range should be part of building sustainable futures and be well connected to their customers, people and communities.
Alongside an MBA at Victoria University in New Zealand, Craig has completed the Senior Executive Program at Columbia Business School in New York and a Digital Executive Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
David Peabody Jnr
Marketing Manager
When David T. Peabody first visited Craggy Range at the tender age of 12 and experienced the vineyards and winery first hand, he knew immediately it was something he wanted to be involved in. But when David told his grandfather, Terry Peabody, of his aspirations a few years later, he had to prove he was serious. David accepted his grandfather’s challenge and has taken on several roles starting from the ground-up through to hands-on positions within the business.
David has spent the last five years located in Singapore and Hong Kong as our Asia Sales Manager and Brand Ambassador, building our business within the growing Asian market. More recently he has returned to Hawke’s Bay, moving into the role of Marketing Manager and also running the New Zealand sales. David continues the family commitment as the third generation working in the business.
Julian Grounds
Chief Winemaker
Western Australia-born Julian Grounds has been working in wineries and vineyards since the age of 17. After graduating Dux from his Oenology and Viticulture studies, and receiving the Leeuwin Award for future leadership, Julian was awarded a scholarship to make Pouilly-Fuissé Chardonnays in Burgundy. After stints in Margaret River, Central Otago, and Oregon, Julian took up a role as Senior Winemaker at Giant Steps in the Yarra Valley, before returning to Margaret River to join McHenry Hohnen as Chief Winemaker in early 2017. Later that year, he graduated Dux of the Len Evans Tutorial in the Hunter Valley.
Julian joined Craggy Range as Chief Winemaker in January 2019, bringing his enthusiasm for contributing to the constant evolution of wine, together with his desire to help consumers understand and enjoy what they are drinking.
Jonathan Hamlet
National Vineyard Manager
Jonathan is well known in the New Zealand wine industry with 13 years at Villa Maria as their Regional Vineyard Manager for Hawkes Bay, as well as the immediate past Chair of Organic Winegrowers New Zealand. Jonathan has been on the Organic Winegrowers Exec committee since 2008 and chaired the group from 2014 – 2019, so will bring a wealth of knowledge to our various Organic and Biodiversity projects and trials that we are running across our vineyards.
Casey McDonald
Head Chef
When Casey took the Head Chef position at Craggy Range, he brought a wealth of knowledge and experience. Since entering the industry at a young age, Casey has worked alongside some of the world’s most acclaimed culinary leaders globally and closer to home. Rex Morgan in Wellington, Gary Danko in San Francisco, two Michelin starred The Square with Phil Howard in London and more recently helming Andrew McConnell’s Melbourne restaurants, including Supernatural, Cumulus and Cutler & Co. The latter being awarded Gourmet Traveller’s ‘Best in Australia’.
Craggy Range Restaurant was a chance to take his background and create a dining experience that spoke of his natural inclinations and showcased the abundant bounty of this unique region. The last decade’s adventures have influenced Casey’s signature style – from the uniquely warm hospitality driven by his kitchen and front-of-house teams to his desire to champion our region’s unique spoils and the incredible people and families who produce them.
Under Casey’s leadership, the Craggy Range restaurant has received many accolades, including two hats and New Zealand Winery Restaurant of the Year in the Cuisine Good Food Awards.
Michael Bancks
Customer Experience Manager
Michael Bancks is one of New Zealand’s leading sommeliers after taking out the title of New Zealand’s Sommelier of the year in 2008 and more recently having represented New Zealand at the ASI World Sommelier Competition in Argentina. Michael developed his passion for hospitality during his time in France as Maître d’ at three Michelin Star restaurant of famed chef Michel Guerard at Les Prés d’Eugénie. Back in Hawke’s Bay Michael manages the Cellar Door and the Visitor Hosting Programme showcasing the Craggy Range wines and their unique qualities to visitors and key influencers from around the world.
Rob Fyfe
Strategic Advisor
Rob began working with Craggy in 2013 in a consultancy capacity and then formally joined the business in 2014 as Strategic Advisor, where he plays a key support role to our leadership team and the Peabody Family. Rob’s reputation as one of New Zealand’s top CEO’s was earned after 7 years as CEO of Air New Zealand, and as CEO of New Zealand icon clothing brand, Icebreaker. As a passionate Kiwi, wine lover and an expert in growing brand awareness and distribution, Rob is a critical part of our team.
