About

Will Duffy began his legal career in 2010 as a graduate in the Melbourne office of Allens Arthur Robinson (now Allens Linklaters) and spent four years rotating through the corporate advisory, commercial litigation and property practice groups. He moved in-house in 2014 as Legal Counsel for TWE, and spent 18 months advising the company’s sales and marketing operations in Australia, New Zealand, Asia and the EU. In 2016 he assumed his current role focusing on TWE’s supply chain, which he says primarily involves ‘providing legal support to our sourcing and manufacturing operations in TWE’s three key production regions outside the US, being Australia, New Zealand and the EU’.

He also supports the company’s sales and marketing functions in South East Asia, the Middle East and Africa, and has primary responsibility for major asset acquisitions and divestments occurring in Australia and New Zealand. In providing truly transnational advice to a fast-growing international company, Duffy notes ‘because the scope of work is so broad, strong relationships with the diverse range of people that make up TWE is critical to success. A good network of experienced colleagues and local advisors is also essential’. As he explains: ‘TWE operates at every level of the chain of production, from planting crops on land it owns, right though to global distribution of the end product. That sort of operating model requires a broad skill base, covering everything from land management, viticulture and winemaking, packaging and logistics, right through to marketing and sales, all of which takes place in countries all over the word. In the TWE legal team we deal with all these people directly, which provides excellent commercial experience, genuine exposure to international commercial practices and an appreciation for the amazing pool of talented, passionate people we have working for the company’.

Among Duffy’s career highlights while in-house are his assistance with TWE’s acquisition of Diageo’s UK and US wine operations in 2015, and his guidance of TWE’s rapid expansion through new and emerging markets in 2016, including burgeoning business in China and Japan. Of this he has overseen ‘negotiations and business planning with local partners and customers during the rapid transition from relatively passive distribution models, to establishing direct relationships with dozens of local importers, wholesalers and major retail chains’. He adds: ‘It was great experience to see how things are done in some of the world’s largest and fastest growing wine markets’.