Ellie Anest
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Ellie Anest is the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Eleven Eleven Winery, one of Napa Valley’s few urban wineries. As CEO, she leads the company’s strategic vision, hospitality, brand development, vineyard growth, and operations. An entrepreneur at heart, Ellie is known for combining financial discipline with a deep commitment to hospitality and relationship-driven business building. Raised on a farm in Nebraska, Ellie learned early the value of patience, hard work, and building something meaningful from the ground up. Her upbringing—rooted in her father’s entrepreneurial farming business and her mother’s creativity and resourcefulness—shaped her lifelong belief that ideas, like crops, require care and intention to flourish.
She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Accounting from San Diego State University and began her career at KPMG before moving into strategic and financial roles at Taco Bell Corporate. She later co-founded and operated a European Market & Deli with her family, founded Anest Financial Solutions, and developed a healthcare-focused consulting practice with RGP. In 2012, Ellie co-founded Eleven Eleven Winery alongside Carol Vassiliadis. Under her leadership as CEO, the winery has grown into a 35-acre Napa Valley estate with 25 acres of sustainably and organically farmed vineyards. Eleven Eleven is known for its single-vineyard, 100% varietal wines crafted in partnership with winemaker Kirk Venge, and for its elevated hospitality experiences rooted in connection and community. At the heart of her work is the Greek concept of Parea—the gathering of friends who share life, conversation, and experience.
IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN:
- How to make a courageous career pivot from corporate finance and consulting into Napa Valley wine leadership.
- How Ellie grew Eleven Eleven Winery from roughly 1,200 cases to 6,000 cases annually while building a complete hospitality business.
- Why resilience means adapting and making confident decisions through uncertainty, not simply enduring difficult moments.
- How to use transferable financial and operational skills to succeed in an entirely different, relationship-driven industry.
- How to transition from founder-mode and doing everything yourself into CEO-level leadership with systems and trust.
- Why a family-like workplace culture directly improves accountability, creativity, retention, customer experience, and profitability.
- How personal heritage and values can become an authentic foundation for a premium brand experience.
- Why the Greek concept of Parea—bringing people together through shared experiences—drives meaningful brand loyalty.
- How to keep believing in your vision and move forward before you have every answer or connection.
- Why success is measured not only by revenue and production but also by the people and community you build.
about the show
Next Level CEO is an entrepreneur education series hosted by Daymond John, created for business owners, founders, and leaders who want real insight from people who have built, scaled, and led successful companies.
Each episode features expert CEOs, founders, and industry leaders sharing the stories, decisions, strategies, and lessons behind their growth. Viewers get a closer look at how strong brands are built, how companies scale, and how experienced entrepreneurs think through leadership, opportunity, risk, and long-term success.
From disruptive startups to established business empires, Next Level CEO gives entrepreneurs a front-row seat to the business strategies, founder insights, and leadership moves that drive business excellence.
Whether you are an entrepreneur looking to grow, a business owner ready to level up, or a leader who wants to learn from proven builders, Next Level CEO delivers practical lessons from people who have created something that lasts.
