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STAMFORD, Conn. — Tom Smith has been appointed president of customer development and sales operations at Nestlé Waters North America (NWNA).
NWNA said late Monday that Smith, formerly chief integration officer for Nestlé Business Excellence in North America, will start in the new position on Jan. 15. He replaces John Zupo, who is leaving NWNA to pursue opportunities outside of the company.
Tom Smith
In his new role, Smith will oversee Nestlé Waters North America’s sales operations in the United States. He will serve as a member of the NWNA executive team and will report to Fernando Mercé, president and chief executive officer.
“As America’s No. 1 beverage of choice, more and more consumers are choosing bottled water over carbonated soft drinks,” Smith said in a statement. “I’m looking forward to leading the sales organization at NWNA and delivering profitable growth that drives the company’s healthy hydration ambitions.”
Nestlé noted that, at NBE, Smith was responsible for leading the integration and implementation of projects to standardize and streamline key services in Nestlé companies across the U.S. market. He brings more than 30 years of sales experience and has held a range management posts within Nestlé company sales organizations. Before joining NBE, he served as president of the Nestlé Walmart team and as president of Nestlé Business Services for all Nestlé companies in North America.
Other roles Smith has held in his career at Nestlé, which began in 1985, include president of the Nestlé sales division for Nestlé USA, vice president of sales operations and customer development for Nestlé USA, division vice president of category sales development for Nestlé Chocolate & Confections, and division vice president of category sales development for Friskies PetCare.
“I am delighted that Tom will be joining the Nestlé Waters North America family,” Mercé stated. “His more than 30 years of sales experience will help to strengthen our core business as we look to identify new areas of growth and further our leadership position in the bottled water industry.”
Nestlé Waters North America, which the company said is the third-largest nonalcoholic beverage company by volume in the U.S., has a roster of bottled water brands that includes Poland Spring, Nestlé Pure Life, Perrier and S. Pellegrino. NWNA also owns and operates ReadyRefresh by Nestlé, the nation’s largest home and office water delivery service by volume.
