PASADENA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 11, 2001--Danone Group's World Water Division has announced the appointment of John Bilbrey as president of the newly formed Danone Waters of North America (DWNA).
The company has headquarters in Pasadena.
Formed to serve all the bottled water needs of consumers in the United States and Canada, DWNA includes the previously separate bottled water operations of the former Danone International Brands, Great Brands of Europe and McKesson Water Products Co. in the United States, and Naya and Aquaterra in Canada.
``Danone Waters of North America is a new company that is well positioned to serve the broadest range of consumer needs in packaged water, whether at the retail level or through home and office delivery,'' said Bilbrey.
``Our outstanding product portfolio includes well-known consumer brands such as Alhambra, Dannon, Evian, Ferrarelle, Naya, Pure American, Sparkletts and Volvic. We also have a strong and experienced leadership team in place to guide the company's growth in the competitive North American market.''
Bilbrey, who joined DWNA in August 2000 as vice president of Retail Sales, takes over the role of president from Pedro A. Medina, president of Danone Group's World Water Division, who had also been serving as interim president of DWNA until this appointment was made.
``John Bilbrey has 21 years of domestic and international sales experience with Procter and Gamble (P&G), where he started as a sales representative and moved through positions of increasing responsibility during those years,'' stated Medina. ``John will make an excellent leader of the DWNA team.''
Danone Waters of North America Inc. is a subsidiary of Danone Group, the fastest-growing food and beverage company in the world with 1999 net sales of more than $14 billion. With headquarters in Paris, Danone Group is No. 2 worldwide in bottled water; No. 1 worldwide in dairy products with its flagship brand, Danone (Dannon in the U.S.); and No. 1 worldwide in sweet biscuits marketed under the brand name LU. Additional information about Danone Group can be found on its Web site at www.danonegroup.com.
