The company behind the Penfolds and Wolf Blass wine labels is not concerned that its new chief executive has no experience in the wine sector.
Michael Clarke, a former senior executive at Kraft Foods and Coca-Cola, will take the helm at Treasury Wine Estates on March 31.
He will soon relocate from London, where until recently he was chief executive of the publicly-listed Premier Foods and led a significant turnaround of the company.
Paul Rayner, the chairman of Treasury Wine, which was demerged from Foster's Group in May 2011, rejected any suggestion a person with experience in wine would be better suited for the job.
"Treasury Wines, going back to the Foster's years, has been run by wine people for 12 to 15 years, and you draw your own conclusions on how much success they've had," Mr Rayner told reporters.
"I think people would say it hasn't been that great."
In 2013 Treasury Wine disposed of more than $35 million worth of excess or aged wine in the US, and offered major discounts on other wines, after oversupplying the market.
The controversial move contributed to a $160 million hit to the company's bottom line and ultimately led to the departure of chief executive David Dearie in September.
Mr Clarke has a great track record of turning around the financial performance of companies struggling with complex situations and challenging markets, Mr Rayner said.
"I think we've got a real heavy hitter based on his experiences in global iconic brand companies at extremely senior levels," he said.
Mr Rayner added that Mr Clarke was unlikely to want to sell Treasury Wine' struggling US operations.
"He has very much said that he has taken this job because it's a global job," Mr Rayner said.
"He's committed to the growth prospects of the company.
"I think it's most unlikely that he'd be able to achieve the growth prospects that he foresees unless we had a US business."
In a statement, South African born Mr Clarke said he looked forward to working with the company to realise its opportunities.
"I recognise that TWE, like most companies, has its challenges but I believe the opportunities are immense," he said.
