A global team of experts
We are headquartered in the UK with global offices in Canada, China, Hong Kong, Singapore and the US to support the unique needs of our clients around the world.
Hong Kong office
Hong Kong
1001B-2, Kinwick Centre
32 Hollywood Road
Central
Hong Kong
Telephone: +852 2818 0899
A highly experienced and mature wine market, Hong Kong is Asia’s fine wine trading hub and the place we started our overseas expansion in 2016. Since then, the Greater China market has continued to grow, and we’ve thrived thanks to our exemplary expertise and service. Looking into the future, we’ll continue to perfect our offer to consolidate our position in a region of utmost global importance.

Joe Alim
Director of Greater China
Hong Kong
About Joe

Stella Chan
Senior Fine Wine Advisor
Hong Kong
About Stella

Katrina Lee
Senior Fine Wine Advisor
Hong Kong
About Katrina

Issac Ho
Senior Trade Sales Manager – China
Hong Kong
About Issac

Tsong-Ping Chiu
Fine Wine Advisor
Hong Kong
About Tsong-Ping

Mengyan Zhu
Fine Wine Advisor
Shanghai
About Mengyan

Joe Alim
Director of Greater China
Hong Kong
Direct Phone: +852 2818 0089Joe Alim led the opening of the Hong Kong office, the first overseas office for Cult Wines, and now heads up operations as the company’s Director of Greater China. In his role, he’s been critical to establishing the brand in Asia and for translating Cult Wines’ ambitious vision in the market. He’s grateful to work for an innovative business where sharing wine, discussing, and debating with other enthusiasts is all part of the job. Before relocating to Hong Kong, Joe spent three years working in the London office as a Senior Portfolio Manager where he managed private client fine wine portfolios. Joe began his career working in sales for GlaxoSmithKline before following his passion to the world of fine wine. Joe graduated from The University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne (UK) with Bachelor of Science.
Favourite Wine: Trimbach, Clos st Hune

Stella Chan
Senior Fine Wine Advisor
Hong Kong
Direct Phone: +852 2818 0380A self-motivated and detail-oriented Senior Fine Wine Advisor with over 10 years’ experience, Stella Chan is responsible for setting up tailored investment portfolios for clients based on different investment level, expectation and risk appetites. Stella has been in the wine industry for the past eight years, previously serving as Director of Client Services at the auction house Acker Merrall & Condit where she accumulated invaluable experience across operations, marketing, business development and sales. While there, she notably provided auction and investment advice during the Penfolds "Re-corking Clinic" event in Shanghai and Singapore, an estate she is particularly fond of. Stella has spent time travelling and studying winemaking in France, Italy, Switzerland, Australia and Thailand and has earned her WSET Level 3 Award in Wine.
Favourite Wine: Domaine de la Romanée-Conti La Tache and Montrachet, Mouton.

Katrina Lee
Senior Fine Wine Advisor
Hong Kong
Direct Phone: +852 2818 0799In her role of Senior Fine Wine Advisor for Cult Wines, Katrina Lee actively applies an investment management mindset to wine as an asset class. A people person at heart, she has been instrumental in building key relationships with financial institutions for the company. Katrina is a CFA® Charterholder and previously served as a Macro Strategist for J.P. Morgan Asset Management where her analysis covered a broad spectrum of traditional asset classes. Her passion for wine was piqued when living in London and travelling to different wine regions in Europe, learning about winemaking and discovering the stories behind the wines themselves. Afterwards, she seized the opportunity to expand her knowledge, earning her WSET Level 4 Diploma in Wine. Katrina holds a bachelor’s degree from the London School of Economics (UK) and a master's degree from Cambridge University (UK).
Favourite Wine: Henri Jayer Echezeaux 1985, Valentini Trebbiano d'Abruzzo 1999, Vina Tondonia White 1964 Reserva

Issac Ho
Senior Trade Sales Manager – China
Hong Kong
Direct Phone: +852 2818 6338Issac Ho, Senior Fine Wine Advisor, was one of the first employees to join the Cult Wines Hong Kong team. In his capacity, he implements investment strategies to actively manage client portfolios. Well versed in working with HNWI, prior to joining the Cult Wines team Isaac worked in wealth management and as a senior manager in a market-leading insurance company listed in Hong Kong. Issac is a firm believer in democratising fine wine and has nurtured his interest into an encyclopaedic knowledge, through reading, education and attending as many tasting sessions as he can. He graduated from The Open University of Hong Kong with a Bachelor of Business Administration (Honours) in accounting.
Favourite Wine: 2001 Bruno Giacosa Barbaresco Rabaja Riserva, 2000 Domaine Leroy Clos de Vougeot or 1986 Chateau Mouton

Tsong-Ping Chiu
Fine Wine Advisor
Hong Kong
Tsong-Ping Chiu brings an international perspective and a strong combination of finance experience and wine expertise to her role as Fine Wine Advisor. Prior to joining Cult Wines, Tsong-Ping spent several years in investment banking at Jeffries in New York City. She also worked in underwriting at Renaissance Reinsurance in Bermuda, and most recently in corporate intelligence at The Risk Advisory Group, focusing on geopolitical and reputational risks across Greater China and Southeast Asia. Tsong-Ping's passion for fine wine began during her time working for Alinea, a Michelin-starred restaurant in Chicago, where she discovered her love of fine wine’s various disciplines. Tsong-Ping is a certified sommelier from the Court of Master Sommeliers, and she holds a Bachelor of Arts in Linguistics from the University of Chicago (US) and an MS in Finance.
Favourite Wine: She enjoys Champagne and Chablis, with Selosse being her absolute favourite.

Mengyan Zhu
Fine Wine Advisor
Shanghai
Direct Phone: +86 021 6061 9412Mengyan ZHU studied and worked in Burgundy for three years, she holds two masters’ degrees in Financial Management and Wine Management from Burgundy School of Business. She has visited many top wine regions like Bordeaux, Loire, Burgundy, Champagne, Jura etc. Since her return to China five years ago, she’s always been working in the wine industry. She’s done many roles in the wien trade including marketing, education and sales. She is experienced in wine education and has offered countless classes and tastings with a focus on Burgundy. She is a WSET Diploma candidate.
In her spare time, she loves travelling and volleyball, to the extent that she is now a certificated volleyball referee.
Her favorite wine regions are Burgundy, Jura and Champagne。
Key people
Regional Directors
Our directors leverage their extensive backgrounds in the wine and financial industries to lead key regions for the company.

Jonathan Stevenson
Executive Vice President, North America
New York
About Jonathan

Daniel Ward
Head of UAE
Dubai
About Daniel

Carrie Tuck
Chief Marketing Officer, Americas
Toronto
About Carrie

Atul Tiwari
Chief Executive Officer, Americas
Toronto
About Atul

Marcus Allen
Director of EMEA
London
About Marcus

Nicolas Monroy
Director of Southeast Asia
Singapore
About Nicolas

Jonathan Stevenson
Executive Vice President, North America
New York
Direct Phone: +1 (914) 401 8417Jonathan Stevenson brings over ten years and extensive experience in the alternative investment sector of fine wine to his role of Executive Vice President at Cult Wines. In 2021, he was appointed to oversee Cult Wines’ global expansion into North America and is responsible for growing the U.S. client base. Previously, Jonathan was a Sales Manager for the company, based in London and responsible for running the UK sales team. Jonathan began his career at Cult Wines as a Portfolio Manager after graduating from Newcastle University (UK) with a degree in Marketing and Management.
Favourite Wine: Vega Sicilia Unico

Daniel Ward
Head of UAE
Dubai
Direct Phone: +971 585 915 189Daniel Ward is Head of UAE at Cult Wines where he works closely with private clients to achieve their financial goals while further extending their passion for fine wine. Previously, while serving as UK Sales Director for the company, he built a robust team of UK and European Portfolio Managers into one of the most successful in the business. He owes his success to identifying trends, an analytical approach and maintaining a customer-centric focus. He is inspired to see how fine wine has developed into a credible asset class since he began his career with a burgeoning interest in alternative investments. Prior to joining Cult Wines, Daniel held a Portfolio Management role for another company in the fine wine industry. Daniel holds a WSET Level 2 Award in Wines.
Favourite Wine: Clos Apalta

Carrie Tuck
Chief Marketing Officer, Americas
Toronto
After spending nearly two decades working in PR and marketing for multimillion dollar brands and start-ups within the financial services industry, Carrie Tuck knows what truly drives innovation, how to build brands and how to create the right client experience. Carrie’s depth of financial experience and collaborative spirit are invaluable in educating and building awareness of Cult Wines and the benefits of investing in fine wine in the Americas market. Prior to joining Cult Wines Canada as Chief Marketing Officer, Carrie was the Head of Marketing for Vanguard, Canada and was instrumental in building the brand in the region. Throughout her career, Carrie has held various senior positions at asset management and fund companies, where she ran marketing, product and client service. Carrie holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) from Concordia University (Canada).
Favourite Wine: Carrie likes to experiment with wine, so she seizes opportunities to try new wines whenever she can.

Atul Tiwari
Chief Executive Officer, Americas
Toronto
As Chief Executive Officer, Atul Tiwari leads the team and is responsible for the overall strategy and development of Cult Wines Americas. Hailed by Investment Executive as ‘having a knack for knowing what’s next’, Atul is thrilled to have successfully married his extensive investment experience with a passion for wine to introduce this unique asset class to the Americas market. Atul leads with investment rigor, excellent client relationships and unparalleled knowledge of the asset class. Atul’s background speaks for itself, before building Cult Wines Americas, he was employee number one at Vanguard Canada. As CEO for the company, together with his team, he helped pioneer ETF investing in Canada and grew the company from $3 to $30 billion in assets over 7.5 years. Prior to Vanguard, he held progressively senior positions at BMO Financial including senior vice president of BMO Asset Management, heading up the BMO US mutual fund business in Chicago before going on to lead the charge for BMO to enter the ETF business as the founding President of BMO Exchange Traded Funds. In 2018 he received the Indo Canada Chamber of Commerce award for Corporate Executive of the Year and has twice been named to Wealth Professional’s annual list of People to Watch in the industry. Atul is a member of the Independent Review Committee for Mackenzie Funds, a Director of the D.D. Foundation, which provides free medical care and education to the disadvantaged in India, a member of the Advisory Council for the CFA Society of Toronto and an Honourary Trustee of the Royal Ontario Museum. In addition to his personal interest in wine, Atul has also managed a 4,000-bottle cellar of fine Burgundy for the Toronto Chapter of the Confrerie des Chevaliers du Tastevin over a five-year period. After earning his law degree from Osgoode Hall Law School (Canada), he began his career in law, practicing in London (UK) and Toronto (Canada) before transitioning to finance.
Favourite Wine: Atul loves and knows Burgundy very well, and he also enjoys Bordeaux and Italian wine.

Marcus Allen
Director of EMEA
London
Direct Phone: +44 (0) 207 1000 933As Director of EMEA, Marcus Allen heads up the Relationship Management team and is responsible for driving growth in the region. His expertise and acute comprehension of the financial sector have been a vital asset in growing Cult Wines and establishing fine wine as credible asset class. Marcus has considerable experience in the financial sector, having previously worked at Goldman Sachs and The Royal Bank of Scotland, and holds a Certificate of Investment Management Level 4, and WSET Level 2 Award in Wines. Marcus graduated from the University of Nottingham (UK) with a Bachelor of Arts in Management.
Favourite Wine: Chateau Palmer 1983 and Clos Apalta 2014

Nicolas Monroy
Director of Southeast Asia
Singapore
Direct Phone: +65 6909 8173Nico Monroy, Director for Southeast Asia, leads our team in Singapore and is responsible for driving our regional strategy and company footprint in this part of the world. Prior to his role as director, Nico was Cult Wines’ senior portfolio manager for Southeast Asia where he worked directly with the Chief Investment Officer developing our global investment strategy. He joined the company after working for J.P. Morgan Private Bank, advising ultra-high net worth clients and family offices in Silicon Valley, New York, and Latin America. It was living in the Bay Area where Nico fell in love with the California wine country and understood the real potential of wine as an alternative asset class. He has a thirst for learning and holds an MBA from Duke University (US), a Bachelor of Arts in Finance from Universidad Externado de Colombia -his home-, and a certificate in Business Innovation and Applications of Blockchain technologies from MIT (US).
Favourite Wine: Dominus Estate
Product & Technology
The Product & Technology department is the data-driven heart of our company and the team behind our proprietary statistical models we rely on to build well performing portfolios.

Jody Richardson
Director of Digital Innovation
London
About Jody

Corey Parkinson
Global Head of Product
London
About Corey

Dmitry Selemir
Head of Data Science
London
About Dmitry

Jody Richardson
Director of Digital Innovation
London
Direct Phone: +44 (0) 207 1000 942Director of Digital Innovation, Jody Richardson joined the Cult Wines team at the company’s inception, initially developing the first website for the brand. Today, Jody oversees the company direction of data and technology, leading the team in the development of internal and client facing platforms, websites and services leveraging new technology and intelligent practices. Jody has been integral in launching each new iteration of the brand website, with the most recent, the fifth, being the most defining project of his professional career. Jody previously worked across the marketing department in various roles leading design and digital marketing, culminating in running marketing across all global regions. While guiding the company’s digital growth, Jody has developed a keen appreciation for wine, understanding the skills, process and ageing that work together to create a story and romanticism unlike any other asset.
Favourite Wine: Pontet Canet, Château Mouton Rothschild, Château d'Yquem

Corey Parkinson
Global Head of Product
London
Corey Parkinson brings a decade of experience across management consulting and start-ups to his role as Global Head of Product at Cult Wines. He leads a team of intrepid product managers to build products that optimise the client experience with data-lead client-facing platforms and services. Prior to Cult Wines he advised CBRE on investment into emerging technology including blockchain, AI and ML, specifically cost/benefit analysis on integrating these tools into their client portfolios. He also founded his own blockchain consultancy and has worked closely with start-ups on scaling up to get investor ready by focusing on emerging technologies. Corey began his career consulting at Accenture and PwC, giving him a solid grounding in problem solving business and technology. He is delighted to work in a tech-literate business where he can hone a new skillset – appreciate and know wines. He graduated with a degree from the University of the Sunshine Coast (Australia).
Favourite Wine: Château Mouton Rothschild, Sassicaia and Alter Ego.

Dmitry Selemir
Head of Data Science
London
Dmitry Selemir, Head of Data Science, oversees product and technology at Cult Wines. His specialised experience across physics, quantitative analysis and portfolio management in hedge funds make him ideally suited for the role. Dmitry’s mastery of data science and personal experience – he’s been investing in fine wine for the past decade – have proved critical in engineering automated allocations and improving the quality of data across the board. Before joining the fine wine industry, Dmitry earned experience running his own start-up as well as overseeing data science for commercial real estate. Dmitry earned his diploma in physics from Moscow State University (Russia) where he specialized in theoretical plasma physics.
Favourite Wine: Negru de Purcari
Wine & Operations
Our business is founded on finding great wines and looking after them obsessively. Our Wine and Operations team combine flair and experience to deliver this year in year out.

Andrea Marino
Senior Fine Wine Buyer
London
About Andrea

Hermione Egerton-Smith
Senior Fine Wine Buyer
London
About Hermione

Tom Turner
Trading & Operations Director
London
About Tom

Andrea Marino
Senior Fine Wine Buyer
London
Direct Phone: +44 (0) 207 1000 973In his role as Senior Fine Wine Buyer, Andrea Marino seamlessly blends his financial and on-the-ground wine merchant expertise. At Cult Wines, Andrea specialises in buying across the wine regions of Burgundy, Rhône and Italy. During his tenure, he proudly initiated the business of direct relationships with wineries for Cult Wines. Before embarking on his career at Cult Wines, Andrea opened a wine bar in Switzerland that evolved into a structured merchant wine business, selecting, importing and distributing niche wines from Mediterranean wine regions. Prior to embracing his passion for wine wholeheartedly, Andrea worked in Fixed Income Institutional Sales for Unicredit and BBVA in Milan and Munich. Andrea holds a WSET Level 4 Diploma in Wines and a Bachelor in Business Administration and M.Sc. in Finance from Bocconi University (Italy).
Favourite Wine: in his pursuit of taste, you’ll find in his glass always something new.

Hermione Egerton-Smith
Senior Fine Wine Buyer
London
Direct Phone: +44 (0) 207 1000 937Hermione Egerton-Smith is a Senior Fine Wine Buyer at Cult Wines. Hermoine’s investment grade buying expertise and close collaboration with the world’s most prestigious wineries and merchants have proved vital to the growth of the company. Her specialised knowledge and eye for fine wine helped drive Bordeaux EP allocation growth by 40% between 2018-2019. Well-known for being unequivocally organised, she counts herself as lucky to love what she does and is proud to be part of an innovative, growing company. She holds a WSET Level 4 Award in Wines graduated with a Philosophy degree from Nottingham University (UK).

Tom Turner
Trading & Operations Director
London
Direct Phone: +44 (0) 207 1000 940Tom Turner, Trading and Operations Director, is part of the founding team at Cult Wines and responsible for the day-to-day management of trade sales and operations. In his role, he manages relationships with trade clients and suppliers, alongside planning exit strategies for private clients through market analysis and trend monitoring. Tom has been a key part of the company’s evolution from establishing the trade, purchasing and operations departments, developing a global network of b2b relationships to create a supply network while growing the burgeoning retail and trade sales side of the business. His attention to detail and exacting standards are second to none, which proved crucial when executing two complicated warehouse moves. Tom’s tenure at the company has given him a dynamic understanding of the intersecting departments within the organisation, making him well positioned to continue growing the standards of the business, maintaining team dynamics and working to achieve collective ambitions. Tom attained a RICS-accredited Surveying degree (BSc) from Kingston University (UK) before pursuing a career in the wine industry.
In his glass: Chateau Margaux 1996
Investment Management
With a great deal of financial experience and understanding of the global economy, our Investment Management team is responsible for ensuring we provide a significant level of investment expertise to clients across the globe.

Olivier Staub
Chief Investment Officer
London
About Olivier

Yijun (Lena) Lu
Portfolio Manager
London
About Yijun

Neil Thorne
EMEA Portfolio Manager
London
About Neil

Olivier Staub
Chief Investment Officer
London
Direct Phone: +44 (0) 207 1000 980Olivier Staub, Chief Investment Officer, has more than 25 years’ experience in trading and asset management. At Cult Wines, Oliver is responsible for the investment policy, development of the portfolio management framework and chairs the company’s Investment Committee. Under his leadership, the company has delivered an aggregate annual compounded performance of +8% per year. Prior to joining Cult Wines, he held managing positions in leading institutions including J.P. Morgan, Barclays Capital, BBVA and London Clearing House. Notably, he built and led the credit derivatives trading business for Barclays Investment Bank, launching the first e-trading platforms for credit derivatives and indices. His first professional wine venture was as a founding partner and board member of 67 Pall Mall, London’s private members club dedicated to fine wine. Olivier’s wine journey began when attended the Burgundy School of Business (formally Ecole supérieure de Commerce de Dijon), where alongside studying Economics and Finance he spent time visiting the area’s renowned vineyards as often as he could. He holds a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) accreditation and the WSET Level 3 Award in Wines.
Favourite Wine: De Vogue Musigny and Dujac Chambertin

Yijun (Lena) Lu
Portfolio Manager
London
Lena Lu is a Portfolio Manager responsible for creating and managing investment allocations for private clients. She began her career at Cult Wines as a Research Analyst, providing analytical market insights for the investment team. Lena’s strong financial background combined with her knowledge and passion for wine positions her unequivocally capable of identifying opportunities and risks in this complex market, using quantitative and scientific economic methods. Prior to joining the Cult Wines team, Lena held several roles in the finance industry from venture capital to the Investment Banking arm of China Securities. Lena is a CFA® Charterholder, she graduated from the University of Toronto with Bachelor’s Degree in finance and economics and holds a WSET Level 3 Award in Wines.
Favourite Wine: Burgundy and Champagne

Neil Thorne
EMEA Portfolio Manager
London
Neil Thorne is an EMEA Portfolio Manager responsible for the creation and management of investment portfolios. Leveraging his wide-ranging financial background, he defines company investment strategy to optimise performance for Cult Wine Investment. Neil previously spent 10 years at Barclays, working across numerous areas of the business from Private Banking to Hedge Fund Sales. Most recently he served on the Fixed-Income Sales & Trading desk in London. Neil also gained valuable experience in Investment & Wealth Management working with UHNW clients in Dubai and within Alternative Assets in New York. He is a CFA® Charterholder, holds a WSET Level 2 Award in Wines and graduated from the University of Sheffield with a law degree.
Favourite Wine: Galician Whites & English Sparkling
Senior Management & Advisors
Our senior management team and advisors are drawn from a diverse array of backgrounds, bringing strength and depth to the business. Their extensive knowledge of wine, finance, or business, guides Cult Wines’ strategy and approach.

Kaz Takabatake
Commercial Director, APAC
Singapore
About Kaz

Gemma Castle
Chief Financial Officer
London
About Gemma

Oakley Walters
Global Marketing Director
London
About Oakley

Aarash Ghatineh
Chief Revenue Officer
London
About Aarash

Patrick Thornton-Smith
Customer Experience Officer
London
About Patrick

Harry Wake
Advisor
London
About Harry

Brad Goldberg
Advisor
New York
About Brad

Olivier Staub
Chief Investment Officer
London
About Olivier

Kaz Takabatake
Commercial Director, APAC
Singapore
Kaz Takabatake is a highly motivated, results driven executive with nearly 30 years of experience in various in-depth, broad-based sales and management roles within the financial, fintech and commodity sectors. As Commercial Director APAC for Cult Wines, Kaz identifies new opportunities and emerging markets within the APAC region. His expertise working with different cultures across the APAC region together with his exceptional network of institutional and high net worth clients has proved vital in implementing impactful regional expansion strategies. Before joining Cult Wines, Kaz held leadership positions for online FX firms including Managing Director for OANDA, Chief Commercial Officer for Allocated Bullion Solutions and CEO of Saxon Markets Asia Pacific. He earned his Bachelor of Engineering (Honours), Aerospace, Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering from University of Southampton (UK) and holds a WSET Level 3 Award in Wine.
In his glass Calon-Ségur 2009

Gemma Castle
Chief Financial Officer
London
Direct Phone: +44 (0) 207 1000 958With over 20 years of experience, Gemma Castle is well versed in delivering nuanced and sophisticated financial strategies in the fast growth SME sector. As Cult Wines’ Chief Financial Officer, Gemma has been pivotal in providing financial leadership and guiding the company through critical stages of growth, including navigating the complicated implementation of the North American offices. Highly efficient, she is always ready with a solution or an answer. Before joining Cult Wines, Gemma worked in the leisure and hospitality for ten years where she served as Director of Finance for Travelzest and Yotel Limited Global Hotels as well as CFO for Light Cinemas Limited, a challenger brand in the leisure space. Gemma trained as a chartered accountant with the Institute of Chartered Accountants for England & Wales and holds a Bachelor of Science from The University of Southhampton (UK).
Favourite Wine: Tiganello, Sassicaia

Oakley Walters
Global Marketing Director
London
Oakley Walters joined Cult Wines as Global Marketing Director with 15 years’ experience across high growth start-ups like Moneyfarm and leading global FMCGs including Diageo. In his role, Oakley oversees all of the marketing efforts from customer acquisition, performance marketing and long-term brand strategy. Oakley’s career has included leadership roles with Different Dog, Elder and Moneyfarm. With a proven record of driving growth and rapidly scaling businesses, he is passionate about maximising potential, both of the business and the people he works with.

Aarash Ghatineh
Chief Revenue Officer
London
Direct Phone: +44 (0) 207 1000 930One of the founding members of the Cult Wines team, Aarash Ghatineh has been fundamental to building the company and introducing a new way of investing to people around the world. As Chief Revenue Officer, he oversees the company’s global revenues and growing sales teams. Over the past decade, Aarash has led the team in £300M-worth of sales and helped build a 3,000 strong investor base. His passion for what he does and meticulous knowledge of the market – including his admirable ability to consistently identify blind tastings - bring an incredible depth of experience and expertise to the Investment Committee. He began his early career in the financial sector at chartered accountants in London. Aarash graduated from the University of Nottingham (UK) with a first-class honours degree in Politics.
Favourite Wine: Chateau Rayas, Joseph Drouhin, Montrachet Marquis de Laguiche

Patrick Thornton-Smith
Customer Experience Officer
London
Direct Phone: +44 (0) 207 1000 941Patrick Thornton-Smith has over 30-years’ experience in global financial markets specialising in derivatives and fintech. In his current role as a Customer Experience Officer, Patrick is taking CX to a new level through deep analysis and implementing emotional experience drivers across a range of touch points. He also leads the company’s CSR and ESG efforts, ensuring participation in positive impactful initiatives that actively contribute to the future of the wine industry. His financial background and a keen interest in wine – he holds a WSET Level 2 Award in Wines - provide valuable perspective as to how wine impacts people’s lives both as an investment and as a luxury experience. Throughout his career, he has held roles covering strategy, marketing, sales, operations and senior management positions. Prior to joining Cult Wines, Patrick served as Managing Director at Duco, a leading data automation company. He’s also worked for Barclays Capital, ICAP and a range of fintech firms from his own start-up to established vendors in both the US and UK. Patrick is a Trustee of both Futures for Kids and Leadership through Sport and Business.
Favourite Wine: Italian Chardonnays, Oregon Pinot Noir and most wine from the Right Bank.

Harry Wake
Advisor
London
Harry Wake, Advisor to Cult Wines, is a growth-focused entrepreneurial executive with a deep passion for fine wine. He has been an important asset in enabling a range of companies to unleash their growth within the rapidly evolving digital landscape. Harry is a recognised leader and specialist in digital marketing, corporate storytelling, business strategy and organisational transformation who brings a unique approach to solving for growth. He is currently active in the UK start-up community as an angel investor with a focus on D2C and AdTech. His experience includes founding the EMEA branch of Group SJR and leading it through its post-acquisition integration into WPP while rapidly scaling. He has also worked for Bain & Company in New York, and Unilever in London and Milan. Harry holds an MBA from Harvard Business School (US) and graduated from Trinity College Dublin (Ireland) with First Class Honours.

Brad Goldberg
Advisor
New York
Brad Goldberg, Advisor to Cult Wines, is an active advisor for CEOs scaling businesses at the intersection of trends across technology, finance, community, and culture. Brad is well known as a builder of disruptive fintech, consumer and tech platform businesses. He spent eleven years at Microsoft developing products with differentiated value propositions, managing large organisations and creating technology platforms. He led two fintech businesses from the initial stage to scale including Apex Clearing (going public via a SPAC), and the online brokerage OptionsHouse (sold to General Atlantic and then E*TRADE) for PEAK6 Investments. He is a Limited Partner Advisor at NYCA Partners, Lead Independent Director at Spark Networks (NYSE: LOV), and a Board Member at Cellar Tracker.

Olivier Staub
Chief Investment Officer
London
Direct Phone: +44 (0) 207 1000 980Olivier Staub, Chief Investment Officer, has more than 25 years’ experience in trading and asset management. At Cult Wines, Oliver is responsible for the investment policy, development of the portfolio management framework and chairs the company’s Investment Committee. Under his leadership, the company has delivered an aggregate annual compounded performance of +8% per year. Prior to joining Cult Wines, he held managing positions in leading institutions including J.P. Morgan, Barclays Capital, BBVA and London Clearing House. Notably, he built and led the credit derivatives trading business for Barclays Investment Bank, launching the first e-trading platforms for credit derivatives and indices. His first professional wine venture was as a founding partner and board member of 67 Pall Mall, London’s private members club dedicated to fine wine. Olivier’s wine journey began when attended the Burgundy School of Business (formally Ecole supérieure de Commerce de Dijon), where alongside studying Economics and Finance he spent time visiting the area’s renowned vineyards as often as he could. He holds a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) accreditation and the WSET Level 3 Award in Wines.
Favourite Wine: De Vogue Musigny and Dujac Chambertin
Founders
At the foundation of Cult Wines are Phil’s extensive financial and wine knowledge and Tom’s natural flair for the business. Cult Wines redefines fine wine investment – an asset rooted in tradition and passion meets modern investment standards built around transparency, fairness and simplicity.

Tom Gearing
Co-Founder & CEO
London
About Tom

Philip Gearing
Co-Founder & Chairman
London
About Philip

Tom Gearing
Co-Founder & CEO
London
As CEO, Tom Gearing oversees the company’s overall strategy, global operations and technology innovation, which has distinguished Cult Wines from its competitors as an industry leader. Tom has grown Cult Wines from a burgeoning start-up to an award-winning global company with six offices across the United Kingdom, North America, and Asia Pacific. Under his direction, the company has been named to the Sunday Times Fast Track 100 in 2015 and again in 2017, the SME Export Track 100 in 2016 and 2017 and the International Track 200 in 2018 and 2019.
Tom cultivated a passion for fine wine in his formative years, learning first-hand from his father who led numerous wine companies throughout his childhood. Tom spent a significant amount of time travelling with his father to the Cote d’Or, visiting vineyards and studying Bordeaux from the ground up, where he developed a keen interest in business and a bold vision for the future of fine wine. Tom’s expertise, entrepreneurship and innovative mind have been widely regarded and he is regularly quoted in the New York Times, Financial Times, Wall Street Journal, and Forbes. He has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the Queen’s Award for Enterprise in the International Trade and the Spear’s 500. Tom holds a WSET Level 3 Award in Wines and graduated from Nottingham University with a BA in History.
Favourite Wine: Whilst Tom’s wine preferences often see him focused on chardonnay and pinot noir, he likes to try as many different styles and grape varieties as possible. His most memorable vinous experiences to date are Petrus ’61 en Magnum, Liger Belair La Romanee ’09 and Domaine Leroy, Richebourg ’03.

Philip Gearing
Co-Founder & Chairman
London
Philip Gearing serves as Chairman of Cult Wines, the global leader in fine wine investment. Blending his extensive experience in financial markets with his fine wine expertise, he brings both passion and business acumen to his role. Prior to joining Cult Wines, Philip launched a specialist Burgundy merchant in the 1990s and co-founded Financial Wines, a digital platform that pioneered price transparency for international fine wine trade. Before his foray into the wine industry, Philip spent over 20 years as an investment banker at several leading global financial institutions, including Goldman Sachs, Swiss Bank Corporation, and Tokyo-Mitsubishi.
Favourite Wine: When it comes to wine preference, Philip has an overriding passion for Burgundy. However, he is ever on the look for new Pinot Noirs to compare with his favourites: estates of Dujac, Meo Camuzet, and Chevillon.
We enjoy and appreciate wine, and we know how to invest in it.
We’ve been doing it for more than a decade.


