STAMFORD, Conn. -- Nestle Waters North America's (NWNA) president of customer development and sales operations, John Zupo, has left the company after 19 years, the past four spent leading the sales team.
Tom Smith has been named to the position effective Monday, Jan. 15, according to the company.
Smith, formerly chief integration officer for Nestle Business Excellence (NBE) in North America, will oversee NWNA’s sales operations in the United States. Smith will serve as a member of the NWNA executive team and will report to President and CEO Fernando Merce, who joined the company in April 2017.
At NBE, Smith was responsible for leading the integration and implementation of a series of projects to standardize and streamline key services in Nestle companies across the U.S. market. Smith brings to NWNA more than 30 years of sales experience and has held numerous management positions within the sales organizations of Nestle companies.
Before moving to NBE, Smith was president of the Nestle Walmart Team, where he was the strategic leader and single point of contact with Walmart on all matters across Nestle companies. Additionally, he was president of Nestle Business Services for all Nestle companies in North America.
He was also president for the Nestle Sales Division for Nestle USA; vice president, sales operations and customer development, for Nestle USA; division vice president, category sales development, for Nestle Chocolate and Confections; and division vice president, category sales development, for Friskies PetCare. Smith began his career with Nestle in 1985 and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Providence College.
“I am delighted that Tom will be joining the Nestle Waters North America family,” said Merce. “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.”
“As America’s No. 1 beverage of choice, more and more consumers are choosing bottled water over carbonated soft drinks,” said Smith. “I’m looking forward to leading the sales organization at NWNA and delivering profitable growth that drives the company’s healthy hydration ambitions.”
Smith replaces Zupo, who is leaving NWNA to pursue opportunities outside of the company. “We are grateful for John’s dedication to Nestle Waters North America over the past 19 years, and we wish him the best in his future endeavors,” said Merce.
Stamford, Conn.-based Nestle Waters North America produces bottled-water brands such as Poland Spring, Nestle Pure Life, Perrier and San Pellegrino, among others, as well as Nestea.
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