Rowan Gormley's grape expectations

Rowan Gormley was hired by Richard Branson in the mid-1990s to come up with ideas that break the mould. That remains his style.

Critics say that Naked Wines is largely spin and that Mr Gormley has simply decanted the wine business into new bottles.

But his customers disagree, and took to the company's website in droves to express their worries that the "magic" of Naked would be swallowed up by a "corporate public giant".

Showing the web savvy that persuaded Majestic to appoint him chief executive, Mr Gormley was quick to respond, writing dozens of posts to point out that, since he is the head of the new group, the Naked ethos would not be lost.

"The magic ain't going anywhere," he wrote.

The South African accountant moved to the UK in 1987 to work in private equity but became Richard Branson's ideas man in 1994, subsequently setting up Virgin Money. But he quickly moved on to wine, first setting up Orgasmic Wines, which was subsequently bought by Mr Branson, and then Naked Wines.

His choice of names may be dubious, but his move to appeal to customers directly through the web, asking "angels" to fund winemakers, shook up the wine trade.

"He is amiable and easy going but in a deceptive way," said one person who has worked closely with him. "He is a pretty bold individual and he will test things to destruction. He is quite data driven but if the idea stacks up he will push behind it."

He told the FT last year "investing in wine is a mug's game because the market is managed. It is not an open, transparent, liquid market. Inventories are artificially constrained to force prices higher. Nobody really knows how much wine is being made, sold or drunk". Unsurprisingly, the wine industry has not taken Mr Gormley to its heart.

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