Pau Roca, the director general of the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV), passed away on 7 December in Dijon, France, after a long illness, the OIV said in a statement.
Since 1992, he has been a Spanish delegate to the OIV and was chairperson of the 'Consumer Law and Information' (DROCON) expert group between 2010 and 2016.
Between 2016 and 2018, he served as vice-chairperson of the 'Sustainable Development and Climate Change' expert group.
Pau Roca
Roca had experience in the olive oil sector and started out in scientific research in oceanography.
He also had specific and in-depth knowledge of the global wine sector and acquired expertise as the head of FEV, the Spanish Wine Federation, which he led for more than 20 years.
A multilingual French and English speaker, Roca encouraged the development of digitalisation within the wine sector and also for the OIV, by promoting new internal communication tools within a department that he has developed.
He was also instrumental in transferring the OIV headquarters to Dijon and initiating the management of the OIV Centenary Year.
Under his leadership, the OIV strengthened ties with other global institutions such as the WTO (World Trade Organisation), the UNWTO (World Tourism Organisation ), the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations), the CIHEAM (International Centre for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies) and the Codex Alimentarius.
Regina Vanderlinde and Luigi Moio, who chaired the OIV during Pau Roca's term of office, praised his conviction and commitment to the world wine industry, which enabled the organisation to embark on a new century.
Roca is survived by his wife, Diana Ribera, and three children.
