BevNET.com is pleased to announce that beverage sales and marketing executive Andy Steele will be be a presenter and panel participant during BevNET Live on June 6. Steele, who has spent the last five years working largely for Glaceau, will speak on building a sales and marketing team that can help an entrepreneurial beverage company effectively achieve growth without losing its roots.

Steele was on the executive management team for a pre-Coca-Cola Glaceau, and as that company’s Director of National Accounts for Convenience was the key hire in helping establish the vitaminwater and smartwater business in convenience, drug and value channels. Following the sale of Glaceau to Coke for $4.2 billion, he remained with the larger entity, evenutally becoming the VP of Business Development for Small Format/Target/Supervalu, managing national and regional chain accounts for brands like Vitaminwater and Smartwater, but also still-growing brands like Powerade, Fuze, NOS and Full Throttle.

Steele’s experience also includes work as a national beverage category manager for Shell Oil. After leaving Coke last month, he began anonymous consulting and sales, which is compiling a high-profile list of emerging beverage and CPG clients including Pura Vida H2O, The Snack Factory and Copper Mountain Beverage.