PLANO, Texas -- Dr Pepper Snapple Group (DPSG) executive Lain Hancock will take over as chief executive officer of Bai Brands after Bai founder Ben Weiss left the company, DPSG has announced.
Hancock previously served as executive vice president, human resources, for DPSG. He has also held multiple senior leadership positions with the company's supply-chain organization, including continuous improvement, manufacturing and procurement. He joined the company in 2007 after serving as a consultant for McKinsey & Co. and as an aviation branch officer in the U.S. Army.
Hancock will work closely with Ken Kurtz, Bai's president of sales, to drive alignment and coordination between Bai and the DPSG selling organization and deliver profitable growth over the long term for the brand.
"Lain knows how to inspire and lead winning teams and develop and execute business plans guided by data and insight," said Larry Young, president and CEO of DPSG. "As part of our executive leadership team for the past four years, he understands how to best bring Dr Pepper Snapple's full capabilities and resources to support Bai's sales, marketing and brand building efforts."
DPSG purchased Bai in November 2016.
Young added that Weiss is leaving the business with strong momentum.
"Ben created one of the beverage industry's most disruptive innovations in recent years. The team at Bai is well positioned to drive growth for the brand well into the future," said Young. "We appreciate all that he has done to build an amazing brand and a phenomenal team, and we wish him well."
Weiss, who started Bai in 2009 in the basement of his Princeton, N.J., home, said, "This is the culmination of an amazing journey for me and my family. What we created at Bai made history. I could not be prouder of the unbelievers I worked side by side with growing Bai to be a disruptor and leader in the beverage industry. This extraordinary brand has been embraced by millions of consumers, and I am confident in its future."
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