4 p.m.Copia, Napa’s center for wine, food and the arts, is getting the third president in its seven-year history.

New president and CEO Garrycq McGuire Jr. comes in with a mandate to energize local programming and develop a strong Internet business.

McGuire, 37, has a background in digital marketing and advertising. He served as Copia’s board of trustees chairman for the past 13 months.

He replaces Arthur Jacobus, who took over the combination museum, restaurant and food-and-wine-themed visitor center in 2005 and will remain as a consultant through June.

McGuire intends to build an Internet presence among millions of wine lovers nationally who might never pass through Copia’s doors on First Street.

In an interview Thursday, McGuire said Copia will make over its local offerings, with more music events, wine-themed special events and interactive attractions.

Gone will be Copia’s remaining “museum” atmosphere. The core display, Forks in the Road, may be history, he said. “You’ll come in and be absolutely overwhelmed with all the things to see and taste and touch.”

McGuire cited the simple magic of a Williams-Sonoma cookware store at Christmas where a customer can sip cider, taste gingerbread and watch a cooking demonstration. The new Copia will be far more stimulating to the mind and senses, he said.

“Copia has to become an even deeper component of the everyday life of the people who live in Napa,” McGuire said. Copia expects to announce in coming months a major remodeling of its 80,000-square-foot building. Admission, formerly $5, will be free for the rest of the year, he said.

With the adjacent Oxbow Public Market open and attracting crowds, Copia intends to restructure itself so locals will want to visit weekly, not yearly, he said.

McGuire is Copia’s third president and CEO. Peggy Loar launched Copia, which opened its doors in November 2001. Copia was launched with great fanfare as the center for wine, food and arts, but the crowds never met the founders’ expectations.

In July 2005, Jacobus was hired to help the struggling institution find a clearer mission and financial stability.

Prior to Jacobus, Copia was losing $5 million to $8 million a year, with lagging attendance, McGuire said. Last year Copia broke even for the first time, he said.

Jacobus restructured $68 million in debt and significantly lowered operating costs. In October 2006, Jacobus announced that a third of its employees would be let go.

At the same time, Jacobus announced that Copia’s primary mission would be wine and wine-themed events, with the arts taking a minor role.

Jacobus, an experienced administrator of cultural institutions, helped Copia come up with a long-term strategy for success and improved finances, McGuire said.

McGuire’s challenge is to expand Copia’s presence on the Internet, where wine lovers can take classes with wine and culinary themes. Many of Copia’s programs can be videotaped for a national audience at copia.org, he said.

“Organizations go through different evolutions,” McGuire said about his taking the helm. “You need different skill sets to be relevant.”

From 2004 to 2007, McGuire was president of Gyro International, a Paris-based marketing and advertising firm with such clients as American Express, Virgin Atlantic and Google.

In June 2007 he became CEO of Icon Internet Venture Corp., a digital marketing and online advertising company with offices in San Francisco and Paris. He makes his home in the Napa Valley.

McGuire said he first became involved with Copia four years ago when Loar was CEO. He worked on several initiatives, then joined the board of trustees.

Vintner Robert Mondavi had a grand vision of how Copia could enhance America’s cultural life and anchor downtown Napa’s emergence as a player in the Napa Valley, McGuire said.

Through trial and error, Copia has matured as an institution, he said. Copia now has a clearer sense of the role it can play in the wine world and locally, he said.

All start-ups have to adapt and change, McGuire said. That’s what Copia is doing.

In announcing McGuire’s appointment, Copia said that Larry Tsai, the chief marketing and development officer, will be stepping down this spring.

“I don’t expect any significant turnover,” McGuire said. There will be several hires to support Copia’s growth plan, he said.

Andrea Robinson, a master sommelier, recently joined Copia in a new position, dean of wine studies. Copia’s senior vice president of wine, Peter Marks, recently announced that he was leaving for another job.

In the press release announcing McGuire’s new position, trustee Agustin Huneeus,cq owner of Quintessa winery and a Copia trustee, said McGuire had the skills that Copia needs.

“I’m confident that Garrycq, with his senior business management background and expertise building global lifestyle brands, will be the right person to help further Copia’s overall mission,” he said.

Efforts to reach Jacobus for comment Thursday afternoon were unsuccessful.

In addition to looking for new corporate partners, Copia is trying to sell the five acres of gardens and parking south of First Street for commercial development.

Copia is in discussions with a major real estate development company to build a “four-star” boutique hotel and a specialty retail center on this location, the center said.