The transition from life at Goldman Sachs in the private wealth management division to heading up Sloan Estate winery in California's Napa Valley was easier than Jenny Pan expected.
"I thought going from the corporate world to a family operation would be much more challenging than it was, but in reality the people who have been working on the estate since the beginning are phenomenal," says the daughter of Goldin Group chairman and chief executive Pan Sutong, who bought the estate two years ago.
"The people there are so dedicated. Nobody says, 'that's not my job' or, 'that's beneath me'. With a very supportive culture like that, it's very much a family atmosphere, and it's very easy to transition."
Pan is not averse to learning the winemaking process from the ground up.
"I believe we have to see everything, even if you are not the winemaker and you are not the vineyard manager ... you still must be able to speak about and experience every step of the process, so you should be down there in the trenches with everybody," she says.
