Skip to Content

    Master Sommelier

    Julie Cohen Theobald

    Discipline
    Master Sommelier
    Portrait of Julie Cohen Theobald

    i. Biography

    Career Julie Cohen Theobald’s work sits at the intersection of standards, education, and brand management. In trade terms, that means translating complex systems into something a team can actually use: at Court of Master Sommeliers, Americas (CMS-A), she serves as Executive Director (2021–present), and in earlier corporate work at Procter & Gamble she launched the Febreze brand and served as Brand Manager for Tide detergent. She also held the role of Executive Director at the Educational Theatre Association. - Executive Director — Court of Master Sommeliers, Americas (CMS-A) (2021–present) - Corporate career; launched Febreze brand and served as Brand Manager for Tide detergent — Procter & Gamble - Executive Director — Educational Theatre Association Education: University of Chicago; Duke University

    FAQ Julie Cohen Theobald trained at University of Chicago and Duke University, then built a corporate career that moved from launching the Febreze brand and serving as Brand Manager for Tide detergent at Procter & Gamble to becoming Executive Director at Educational Theatre Association. Today, Julie is Executive Director of Court of Master Sommeliers, Americas (CMS-A) (since 2021). Julie Cohen Theobald’s path reads like a study in range: rigorous, strategic, and quietly expansive, with each chapter building on the last. She trained at University of Chicago and Duke University, two institutions whose names alone suggest discipline and ambition, and then entered a professional world where brands, audiences, and organizational leadership all had to be understood with equal precision. In corporate roles, she helped launch the febreze brand, a milestone that signals both timing and touch, and later served as Brand Manager for tide detergent at Procter & Gamble, working within one of the most recognizable consumer landscapes in the country. Those experiences placed her at the intersection of messaging, market awareness, and the kind of everyday trust that strong brands must earn. From there, her career took a turn toward mission-driven work, as she became Executive Director at Educational Theatre Association. The move suggests a broadening of perspective, from the language of products to the language of education and performance, and from corporate cadence to organizational stewardship. It is the sort of pivot that reveals not a departure from leadership, but a different expression of it: still centered on clarity, still attentive to standards, but now in a sphere shaped by students, educators, and the arts. Today, Julie is Executive Director of Court of Master Sommeliers, Americas (CMS-A) (since 2021), a role that places her at the helm of an institution defined by discipline, expertise, and a deeply considered culture of service. The position aligns with a career built on managing complexity and elevating standards, while also reflecting a willingness to move across sectors without losing sight of excellence. In that sense, her résumé feels less like a sequence of unrelated stops than a carefully composed arc—one that moves from branding to education to the world of wine with uncommon coherence. What emerges is a portrait of a leader whose professional life has been shaped by reinvention without disruption. Julie Cohen Theobald’s journey from University of Chicago and Duke University to Procter & Gamble, Educational Theatre Association, and now Court of Master Sommeliers, Americas (CMS-A) (since 2021) suggests a rare fluency in translating skills across very different environments. Each role carries its own demands, yet all require judgment, poise, and the ability to guide an organization with a steady hand. What is Julie Cohen Theobald's current role? As of 2026, Julie Cohen Theobald is Executive Director of Court of Master Sommeliers, Americas (CMS-A). Where did Julie Cohen Theobald train or study? Julie Cohen Theobald trained at University of Chicago and Duke University.