Jones Soda Names Mark Murray as President and CEO
Jones Soda has named Mark Murray as its permanent president and CEO, capping a year that has seen frequent executive turnover and a return to growth.
Murray — a 38-year CPG and food service industry veteran who has previously held positions at JGC Foods, Campbell’s Food Company and Kraft Heinz Food Service — joined Jones earlier this year as an advisor and in September was appointed president.
“Mark hit the ground running when he was hired as a consultant and has proven to be instrumental in the early days of our turnaround strategy,” said Jones chairman Mick Fleming in a press release. “His experience, guidance and vision have helped us streamline costs, improve almost every aspect of operations, raise brand awareness, and build strong momentum, even in the midst of a pandemic.”
In April, longtime Jones CEO Jennifer Cue stepped down from the role but remained on the board of directors and at the time was the company’s second largest shareholder. Former JGC Foods CEO Jamie Colbourne was named interim CEO. The move was followed shortly after by a wave of layoffs, largely impacting the brand’s sales team, which were attributed to financial constraints caused by COVID-19.
This fall, Jones turned around roughly 18 months of declining sales, with revenue up 17% to $3.5 million in Q3. According to the company, Murray played a key role in leading the brand’s revitalization efforts and was responsible for implementing new cost controls, revising its sales strategy to focus on core products and introducing a new three-year strategic plan emphasizing expansion in foodservice and club channels. Murray was also involved in revamping Jones’ marketing efforts, including a campaign featuring pro skateboarder Tony Hawk.
“Jones is a strong brand that has two key assets: a unique brand personality and a 25-year foothold in the growing craft soda market,” Murray said in the release. “We’ve had early successes already, and I fully expect our performance to continue improving as we execute our plan to return the business to growth and profitability.”
Aqua ViTea Builds Out C-Suite
Vermont-based kombucha maker Aqua ViTea announced this week an expansion of its leadership team with three new additions to its c-suite. The new hires include Chris Gallant as chief sales and marketing officer, Steve Konczal as CFO and Chip Nolin as COO.
As well, the company has hired Bill Keighley as sales director for its alcoholic kombucha line AfterGlow.
According to a press release, Gallant joins Aqua Vita from a position as interim CEO of cold brew coffee brand KonaRed where he oversaw the brand’s acquisition by a strategic buyer earlier this year.
Konczal has held positions with Lhasa Craft Beer, Graze, Lunch Bundles and Unreal Brands and previously served as CFO of Heineken Americas. Nolin has held positions at bodywear brand Commando and personal care company Seventh Generation while Keighley served as director of sales and distribution at Red Bull.
“Aqua ViTea is growing at three times the category rate, and we plan to capitalize on this momentum by strengthening our presence as a top national brand within the next couple of years,” said founder Jeff Weaber in the release. “We are focused on building our distribution partnerships, expanding our retail presence, and activating the brand in the market, especially as kombucha continues to gain popularity.”
Co-Founder Rhinehart Steps Down as Soylent Chairman
Soylent co-founder Rob Rhinehart stepped down as chairman of the company’s board of directors last month, following controversial opinions posted on his personal web platforms. He will remain on the board.
In a blog post, Soylent CEO Demir Vangelov wrote that Rhinehart’s political and social opinions “in no way related to the beliefs or stances of the company.”
“We are hard at work building a great company and focusing on our mission of bringing complete, sustainable nutrition to more people,” Vangelov wrote. “Rob’s recent personal publicity has been a distraction from our core mission and our work. To this end, while Rob remains on the board, we wanted all of our supporters to know about this immediate change. We do not intend to speak more about it.”
Rhinehart co-founded Soylent in 2013 while working on an unrelated tech startup, creating the original formula as a complete nutrition shake in an attempt to remove the need for meal breaks. In early media appearances, Rhinehart, acting as CEO, took a Silicon Valley mindset to the meal replacement category and pitched the brand as disrupting the process of eating. He stepped down as CEO in 2017, handing the mantle to Bryan Crowley, but remained as chairman.
In October, Rhinehart wrote a viral blog post titled “Why I am voting for Kanye West,” in which he announced a distaste for mainstream American political parties and praised former Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The post was referenced in a New York Times article about the challenges Silicon Valley companies face when taking political stances.
Subsequent posts on his blog, Mostly Harmless, have called the New York Times an “evil octopus” that has “controlled and oppressed and enslaved” the general populace, accused President-elect Joe Biden of allegedly throwing innocent Guatemalan citizens in prison and proposed a system for selecting potential colonists for settlements on Mars.