The Hire Silverado Made to Develop Its Staff

Silverado Farming Company provides vineyard management to Napa Valley estate wineries, but it also farms independent vineyards and sells fruit to Napa winemakers.

Just like any business, the farming company has to attract new customers, retain its customer base, and manage its relationships with the community, and developing its employees is key to improving in these areas.

With that in mind, Silverado recently added a position to its leadership team — Director of Company Culture and Strategic Development — a role that will be occupied by Mary Maher, an experienced vineyard manager who has farmed vineyards for more than 30 years.

Founder Pete Richmond said Maher would also lead the group responsible for managing Silverado’s One Percent for the Community Fund, which annually reinvests 1%  of Silverado Farming’s gross profits into local nonprofit organizations that share its values and bring medical, social, and financial support services to Napa Valley families, farmworkers, and at-risk youth. 

To date, the foundation has donated over $1 million to local nonprofits.

 “In this newly created role, Mary will be working with our employees on best practices to deliver a high level of service to our customers and help develop the skills needed to push our vineyards to extraordinary levels,” Richmond said. “Mary will also be on the lookout for team members who show potential and need encouragement to advance in our organization. 

“She will become very involved in how we interact with our community and will also be leading an employee group who will decide where our One Percent donations are given each year.”

Since 2001, Maher served as vineyard manager for Bill Harlan, where she oversaw farming and vineyard development for the Harlan and Promontory Estates.

Client-focused events at Silverado Farming Company include an annual spring workshop, where Silverado serves finished wines it produced in its experimental winery — an exercise intended to display how certain vineyard practices can improve wine quality.