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DC Family Business Forum

About DC Family Business Forum

The mission of the DC Family Business Forum is to promote and foster the growth and ongoing success of family businesses through learning, sharing and creating effective solutions regarding the critical issues and challenges confronting family businesses in the Washington, DC metropolitan region. Presentations and seminars are supported entirely by multi-disciplinary sponsors who are involved in working with family businesses as part of their routine practice.

Attendance to lectures and presentations sponsored by the DC Family Business Forum is offered by invitation only to a limited number of family-owned businesses. Participation in activities is restricted to invitees and sponsors. An invitation is extended by sponsors to family businesses who have the ability to benefit from and participate in the lecture series. Invited businesses will generally have a family member with controlling interest in the business and at least one family member currently employed in the business.


Sponsors



 

Peter Mondavi, Jr.

Peter Mondavi Jr. is the second son of Peter and Blanche Mondavi and grandson of Cesare and Rosa Mondavi, the Napa Valley pioneers who purchased the historic Charles Krug Winery in 1943. As co-proprietor with his brother Marc, he works on issues of strategic importance, including stewardship of the family legacy.

Peter, born in 1958, grew up on the winery property. “I was born and raised around grapes, wine and food. It has always been part of me,” says Peter. His education began at the winery, at a very young age, where he and Marc sanded fermenting tanks, unpacked glasses, worked in the winery’s laboratory and cellar, and drove tractors through the vineyards.

He may have started his education at the winery, but following in his father's footsteps, he attended Stanford University, earning a BS in mechanical engineering, an MS in engineering management and an MBA a decade later. His engineering background has proved a valuable asset to the winery as he has directed a number of key design projects, including the development of a state-of-the-art winemaking facility. His business education has also greatly contributed to the development and execution of the company's long-term strategic plan.

Peter spearheads the stewardship of the historic Charles Krug Winery and vineyards. Peter’s passion is working to reinforce Charles Krug Winery as one of Napa Valley's premier estates, centering on the family's tradition of innovation and quality. As Peter says, “Between Marc and me, we have been making wine from grapes grown on our vineyards for decades. There’s a love and dedication here that you can taste in the wine.”

Peter is a member of numerous wine and food related organizations, including the Wine and Food Society of San Francisco, Chaine des Rotisseurs (Ordre Mondial des Gourmets Dégustateurs) and the American Society for Enology and Viticulture. A prolific fundraiser, Peter has been in partnership with Morton’s and Mastro’s for more than ten years raising funds for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Peter is a former board member of the Napa Valley Vintners Association, Stanford Graduate School of Business Alumni Association (serving as President), Yountville Appellation Association, Bottlenotes Advisory Board and Family Winemakers of California. He keeps his academic ties alive as a guest lecturer at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business, Law School and School of Engineering as well as the UC Davis School of Law. He lives in Napa Valley with his wife Katie Williams-Mondavi. Their son, Lucio, a Stanford graduate, works in the automotive engineering sector in Italy. Daughter Lia graduated from Harvard and lives in London, working for a food tech start-up.