WORLD HOSPITALITY CELEBRITIES

Mireille Guiliano (Meer-ray Julie-ano) is president and CEO of Clicquot, Inc., the firm she helped found in 1984 and was its first employee. Today she is recognized as the driving force in building the company's highly regarded national organization, developing its portfolio of ultra-premium wines, and igniting the remarkable growth and brand recognition of its flagship Champagne Veuve Clicquot. Educated in Paris, where she studied French and English literature at the Sorbonne and languages at the Institut Supérieur d'Interprétariat et de Traduction, Guiliano holds the French equivalent of a master's degree in English and German and certification as a translator/interpreter. She also has a command of Italian and several other languages. She first arrived in America as an exchange student in Boston and came back for good early in her professional career. She currently resides in Manhattan with her husband, Edward, president of New York Institute of Technology, and makes frequent trips to their home in Paris for business and pleasure . . . always pleasure. Mireille is passionate about food and wine and cites breakfast, lunch and dinner as her favorite pastimes. The sound of corks popping is truly music to her ears. An author in her own right, Mireille has been contributing articles on food, wine, travel and lifestyle for years to a wide range of publications, including Town & Country and The Quarterly Review of Wines. Her book, French Woman Don't Get Fat (2005) has already been translated into ten languages.

Photo: French Women Don't Get Fat. The Secret of Eating for Pleasure by Mireille Guiliano. Published by Alfred A. Knopf, December 2004.Since its release, French Women Don't Get Fat rapidly gained acceptance as an international best seller, reaching the top ranks of best-selling books on dozens of lists, including: No. 1 Wall Street Journal (USA), No. 1 Publishers Weekly (USA), No. 1 The Irish Times (Ireland), No. 1 The Sydney Times (Australia), No. 2 The New York Times (USA), and No. 2 The Sunday Times (UK).

A native of France and raised on the world's most famous wine, she is widely regarded as a leading expert on Champagne and possesses prodigious knowledge of gastronomy. She grew up amidst cooks, chefs and restaurateurs, and her enthusiasm for food and wine is contagious. One of the few women who have reached the top echelon of the wine and spirits industry, Mireille wrote the initial marketing plan for Veuve Clicquot in America and directed its implementation. She is credited with growing the Champagne's top image and overseeing a remarkable pattern of doubling sales. Under her leadership, Veuve Clicquot's market share in America has grown from less than one percent to more than 21% today. No wonder her casebook strategic approach to positioning and growing ultra-premium brands is often cited and followed in the industry. Mireille has been called a champion of women in business and has been profiled in numerous publications. She is active in the Committee of 200 and works with other groups promoting business opportunities and education for women. She frequently presents nationally and internationally on business topics, especially related to the luxury goods sector, as well as on wine. Mireille is often a guest on radio and television across America and abroad, and is a sought-after interviewee and hostess.