Governor Chris Gregoire announced Friday the appointment of Ste. Michelle Wine Estates President and CEO, Ted Baseler, to the Board of Regents at Washington State University.
“Ted Baseler’s strong commitment to education, his background in Washington agriculture and his support for ‘all things Cougar’ will make him an outstanding Regent,” said Governor Gregoire. “His dedication will help WSU continue to be a world class university.”
“It is a great honor to accept this appointment,” Baseler said. “I look forward to helping the great team on the WSU Board of Regents continue to expand the horizons of the university.”
Baseler joined Ste. Michelle Wine Estates in 1984 as the Director of Marketing and was named President and CEO in January of 2001. In his 22 years with the company the industry has grown from fewer than 20 Washington wineries to more than 400 today. The company is the oldest wine company in Washington state and owns Chateau Ste. Michelle, Columbia Crest, Northstar, Snoqualmie and Col Solare wineries.
He founded the Chateau Ste. Michelle Diversity Scholarship program, which has raised over $800,000 to support college-bound minority students, and received the WSU Distinguished Service Award in 2002.
“Ted’s commitment to education, to WSU and to the community is unmatched and he is a leader for Washington’s wine industry. Every time I turn around he’s asking me to support minority students or the viticulture and enology program at WSU,” said Bob Felton, director at the management consulting firm McKinsey & Co., WSU graduate and member of the school’s National Board of Advisors.
Baseler is a former president and current board member of the Wine Market Council, serves on the WSU Foundation Board of Trustees and the PONCHO Board, sits on the board of the Washington Wine Commission, previously served as the chairman of the Commission, and is the former director of the Washington Wine Institute. He has also served on the boards of the Seattle Repertory Theater and the Seattle Children’s Hospital Foundation.
Baseler received his Bachelor of Arts in Communications from Washington State University in 1976, and his Master of Science with a major in Advertising from Northwestern University in 1977. He resides in Bellevue with his wife JoAnne, also a WSU graduate.
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