Vinomofo’s Justin Dry and Beer Cartel’s Richard Kelsey have been named Australia’s leading e-commerce drinks professionals in Internet Retailing’s Top 50 People in E-Commerce 2019 report.

The judges scored each candidate in four areas: contribution to the commercial success of the business, knowledge sharing with the industry, innovation within the business and positive impact on the broader community, including customers, shareholders, employees or others.

The Top 50 was determined by the candidates’ total scores.

Dry, who came in at No.14. co-founded Vinomofo in 2011 from a lgarage in Adelaide. The company now has $50 million in annual revenue, 100 staff and 500,000 members, and operates across Australia, New Zealand and Singapore.

Judge Josh Emblin, VP, Sales ANZ, Tryzens, said: “Operating in a crowded space with a few dominant
players, Justin has continued to evolve the business to deliver consistent year-on-year growth throughout 2018,
with a number of innovative features unique to the wine industry and also cutting edge in e-commerce overall.

“Justin is also an active contributor to the community, taking time out to speak at numerous events and also
taking live questions from the crowd, which is never easy!” 

Next at No.21 was Kelsey, who started Beer Cartel in 2009, with Internet Retailing noting that he helped to “pioneer the online sale of craft beer at a time when even Dan Murphy’s had not yet embraced e-commerce”.

He is responsible for innovative and award-winning marketing campaigns, such as the Australian Craft Beer Survey, which draws more than 18,000 participants each year.

“Richard has demonstrated a continuous ability to adapt to market trends, shifting technological preferences and staying on top of consumer research in a time where the average user’s attention span is diminishing by the minute, which has delivered excellent growth for his startup,” said Emblin. 

The top 10 were:

1. Julie Mathers, CEO/Founder, Flora & Fauna
2. Kate Morris, CEO/Founder, Adore Beauty
3. John Winning, CEO, Winning Group and Appliances Online
4. Shane Lenton, CIO, Cue Clothing
5. Katharina Kuehn, chief strategy officer, neurostrategy and innovation, Winning Group
6. Jane Lu, CEO/Founder, Showpo
7. Tony Nash, CEO, Booktopia
8. Wayne Baskin, Deputy CEO/Chief technology officer, Booktopia
9. Nati Harpaz, CEO, Catch Group
10. Tracey Bailey, CEO/Founder, Biome Eco Stores