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WSWA former CEO Juanita Duggan dies
Juanita Duggan, who served as the president and CEO of Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America (WSWA) between 1998 to 2006, has died.
Duggan was the first female president of the WSWA, and died on Tuesday 13 December at her home in Washington DC, US.
“Having worked with Juanita for years on important policy issues, I always found her to be smart, dedicated, and professional in all she did for WSWA and its members. Juanita will be missed dearly and the impact she made on the industry will live on for decades to come,” said WSWA chairman Tom Cole.
Duggan was described as a skilled communicator and energetic leader by the WSWA, as well as a policy expert credited with being a ‘driving force behind the Twenty-First Amendment Enforcement Act’. This act grants US district courts jurisdiction over any action brought by a state attorney general against any person, except one licensed or otherwise authorised to produce, sell, or store alcohol in such state.
Stan Hastings, CEO for US distributor Moon Distributing, commented: “I had the privilege of working with Juanita during her time at WSWA. If there was ever a case of the ‘right person at the right time’ it was when Juanita came to the association. Using her experience from the George H W Bush White House, and time at Phillip Morris as the lead lobbyist for the tobacco settlement, she took WSWA to the next level.
“Under her guidance we passed the Twenty-First Amendment Enforcement Act, helped create Wineshopper.com, the first online three-tier compliant alcohol model, and had a US$1 million political action committee [PAC] for the first time. Her friendship will be missed.”
Duggan spent decades as a policy expert in the Senate, the White House, and the private sector.
“I will miss Juanita. Her energy, focus and passion have always inspired me,” said Southern Glazers Wine & Spirits executive vice-president Barkley Stuart.
Earlier this year, the WSWA said it was ‘disappointed’ with the Uniform Law Commission’s decision to adopt a direct-to-consumer (DTC) alcohol shipping proposal.