BOTHELL, Wash. — Essentia® Water, the first bottled functional water brand offered in the United States, today announced that Greg D. Buscher has joined the company as chief financial officer (CFO). He takes the place of retiring CFO Keith Huetson who has held the position since Essentia’s inception in 1998. Huetson established the fiscal foundation and infrastructure to grow the company from startup to a leading bottled water brand provider, a foundation which Buscher will draw from and continue to build alongside Ken Uptain, Essentia Founder and CEO, and the executive management team.
As CFO, Buscher’s responsibilities include helping to develop the company as a platform for rapid profitable growth by identifying opportunities, mitigating risk and working with Essentia Water’s executive team to put in place systems, processes, people and financial resources to drive and support anticipated growth. One of Greg’s first tasks is to assess the company’s Enterprise Resource Planning system capabilities to ensure it supports current and future sales, marketing and operations needs. He will also have a large share of responsibility for relations with banking and private equity communities.
“Having recently celebrated 10 consecutive years of sales increases thanks in large part to mainstream consumers embracing our high-alkaline functional water process, Essentia is on track for explosive growth in 2014 and beyond,” said Uptain. “Greg has a strong track record in providing the operational and fiscal guidance to support double-digit growth initiatives. I am pleased to welcome him to our executive team, and look forward to having his perspective as we strive to achieve rapid, profitable expansion.”
Buscher is a 25-year financial and operations executive with successful fiscal leadership experience for a wide spectrum of family-owned and private equity-backed companies in manufacturing and distribution. Prior to joining Essentia Water, he served as CFO of Santa Monica, Calif.-based Neurobrands LLC, guiding the functional, ready-to-drink beverage manufacturer through a period of double-digit sales growth. Financial reporting, narratives and M&A are strong suits for Buscher, who has been instrumental in purchases and integrations for Metagenics, Incorporated, The Alliance Automotive Group, LLC, and Home Organizers, Inc., among other organizations.
Buscher is a Certified Management Accountant who earned his Bachelor of Science degree in finance from San Diego State University and graduated first in class while earning his Master of Business Administration degree from the University of California Irvine. When not working, he enjoys biking, power boating and recently learned stand-up paddle boarding. Buscher and his wife of 26 years reside near Essentia Water’s Bothell, Wash.-based headquarters.
About Essentia
Essentia Water, LLC launched its hydrating alkaline water in 1998. The first functional bottled water offered in the United States, Essentia is the no. 1 selling bottled water brand in the natural channel and the fastest growing top 10 premium bottled water brand in the grocery channel. Essentia is hydration perfected™, created using a proprietary process that results in an electrolyte-enhanced water with an alkaline 9.5 pH. Easily absorbed in the body, Essentia hydrates, restores and balances to promote optimal health. Headquartered in Bothell, Wash, Essentia is available at natural foods markets and grocers throughout the United States, and online at Amazon.com.