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You have to climb high to get to the vineyards of Bodega Catena Zapata, one of Argentina’s most prestigious wineries.
The ascent is by design. At 5,000 feet above sea level, the grapevines of Bodega Catena Zapata are exposed to cold that both yields award-winning Malbecs and resists the effects of climate change, which ruin the grapes of some of the company’s competitors.
Laura Catena, the woman who sits at the helm of her family’s winery, credits the decision to cultivate vines in the high mountains of Argentina’s Gualtallary Alto to her risk-taking father, who made the move back in 1992. But it is Catena, a medical doctor with a scientific bent, who shepherded critical adjustments to the soil and to irrigation that have perfected the production of fine wines by her family business.
“An artist and scientist with the heart of a doctor,” as she refers to herself, Catena’s success serves as an example of the strides being made by women at the highest echelons of the business world in Latin America, said Andrea Lluch, independent researcher with Argentina’s National Scientific and Technical Research Council.
“A generation ago she would not have been handed the reins of a major family company, especially in the wine industry, where there is a tradition of machismo of longstanding,” Lluch recently told Harvard Business School’s The BiGS Fix. “There have always been many women involved in the wine industry, but not as public figures. What is happening is that as promotions are increasingly being given on the basis of merit, more women are coming into leadership positions.”
But while Catena is certainly emblematic of gains made by women in Argentina, she is also exceptional, Lluch said. Driving her success is confidence born of her undergraduate years at Harvard, her medical training at Stanford University, her deep understanding of scientific research which informs her understanding of wine production, and the egalitarian atmosphere of the medical profession itself.
“I had never encountered a difference between men and women in my medical profession. If I did, I did not notice it,” Catena told Lluch as part of Harvard Business School’s Creating Emerging Markets interview series.
So, I came to wine with the mindset that being a woman was perfectly acceptable … it did not even cross my mind that being a woman could be second class.
The confidence that Catena brings to her position has helped the winery, founded in 1902 by her great grandfather, an Italian immigrant, reach new heights. For decades the vineyard, along with others in Argentina, produced inexpensive varietals for the mass market. Today, Bodega Catena Zapata wines win taste and quality competitions against some of the finest vintners in the world. To ensure that passion for quality is passed on, a school Catena founded, the Catena Institute of Wine, is imparting the science of winemaking to other would-be wine entrepreneurs.
Overcoming Obstacles of Expectation and Tradition to Rise to the Top
Despite her confidence, rising to the top of her profession as a woman — even as the daughter of the boss — was not easy for Catena. For years, she dedicated herself first to her studies and then to her work as a practicing physician. But a fascination with the wine industry started to draw her back to her roots. For more than two decades, Catena continued to practice medicine, even while working at the winery.
Eventually, her father was ready to step aside, Catena said. And the question arose of who would take over: Catena or her brother.
Wineries in Argentina, Catena said, are traditionally family-owned. But “what is great,” she offered with a smile, “is that families have daughters, too.”
Still, the transition was not without obstacles.“
I had to be very clear with my father that I thought I was the right person and that he needed to choose. I think he knew he had to choose, but he had to make it very clear to the rest of the family. I think that this is very difficult, because in the Italian family, it is never the woman that gets that top job,” Catena said.
" ... My father was very aware that he needed to, as you call it, ‘pass the baton.’ I think that was my most difficult moment. But we have worked it out and that has been amazing. My brother runs his own wine businesses.”
Bringing Other Women Along on Her Climb
Now that she heads the company, Catena said she constantly seeks out ways to provide women employees with opportunities for promotion. She encourages women to enter mentorship programs, some led by women, others by men, to better understand the business. And she actively seeks out talented women candidates. As a result, Catena said, the ranks of executives in the company are well seeded with women.
“I think the more that family wineries can embrace the women in their operations, the better wine will do, because, as we all know, diverse groups of people do better both in terms of production and profits,” Catena said.
Argentina, like the rest of the world, still has a long way to go to ensure women are presented with the opportunities they deserve, Catena said.
“Society still has a lot of pressure, especially in Latin America, for men to be the boss of something, to have a super high-powered job, whereas in many couples, maybe the woman is the more ambitious one. And the capacity to allow the woman to have the more ambitious career in male/female couples is not completely socially accepted in most of the world yet,” Catena said. “When that happens, we will get to what I think we all want, which is a really diverse environment, where men and women can each choose their path, and where culture is not defining who we can be.”