President of UMC and Co-President of CIVC from March 2013 to March 2022
Born in a farming family from the Charentes region, Jean-Marie Barillère remained bound to the land since he decided to study agricultural engineering at the prestigious school of Agro Paris, followed by a specialization in oenology in Montpellier. He started his career as a researcher at INRA in Narbonne. There, on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, he developed this logical approach based on experimentation, an approach that has impregnated his whole career.
At the age of 28, the young researcher became director of the experimental station of Pech Rouge then decided to join the Champagne region, which he has never left since then : he became director of Mumm and Perrier-Jouët vineyards, and was then appointed, in 1999, Chairman and CEO of both these iconic Champagne estates.
He joined Moët Hennessy in 2006, succeeding to Yves Bénard as director of the group’s Champagne activities.
At the same time, Jean-Marie Barillère was elected Vice President of Union des Maisons de Champagne (UMC) where he worked in close collaboration with Ghislain de Montgolfier during his two terms, from 2007 to 2013. He put his skills to the service of the Champagne region, particularly during the negotiation of the 2008 industry agreement and the annual harvesting decisions.
It came as a natural decision for his peers to elect him as President of UMC in March 2013. A pragmatic and rational person, he is determined to lead the Champagne region to a new prosperity and keep up the great visionary work started by the Grandes Marques de Champagne and their leaders three centuries ago.
Jean-Marie Barillère was appointed President of the Comité Européen des Entreprises Vins (CEEV) in July 2013 for a 3-year term, and was re-elected in June 2016 for another mandate.