Leading premium natural spring water brand welcomes industry veteran Thu To Expand Global Growth
LOS ANGELES, CA (December 14, 2021) – Icelandic Glacial, the premium naturally alkaline, sustainably sourced spring water brand from Iceland, is proud to announce the appointment of Raymond Thu as Chief Financial Officer. With over two decades of global beverage experience and expertise, Thu brings a proven perspective to further build the brand as a world leader in premium water.
“Ray comes to Icelandic Glacial with a wealth of experience in our space and has expertise with finance, operations and business development in some of the best-known food and beverage companies globally,” said Jón Ólafsson, Chairman and Co-founder of Icelandic Glacial. “He has demonstrated the ability to thrive in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial culture and we are thrilled to welcome him to our team.”
“I am excited to have Ray as part of the Icelandic Glacial team,” added Reza Mirza, Chief Executive Officer. “We have worked together in the past and I am looking forward to working with him again to grow Icelandic Glacial into one of the top beverage companies in the world.”
Thu first developed his passion for the beverage industry in 1986 at PepsiCo and brings more than two decades of experience in the food and beverage industry, holding executive level positions at McKesson and Nestlè. At Nestlè, Thu was Vice President of Finance for nearly a decade and later as Vice President of Sales for Nestlè Waters North America, where he was teamed with Mirza to re-vitalize the Arrowhead brand and improve profitability for the Southern California market. Further, as Vice President of Finance for JFax.com, Thu was instrumental in the success of the company’s initial public offering.
“Building a strong brand is the greatest challenge for any business and the team at Icelandic Glacial has done exactly that,” said Thu. “My vision is to build a high-performance finance organization to support the aggressive commercial growth plans and help guide the company to profitability as we become one of the top beverage companies in the world.”
The company’s leadership announcement comes at the end of a year where the brand significantly expanded its U.S. direct-to-consumer and on-premise distribution, as well as impactful innovation in its CarbonNeutral® efforts and products.
For more information, please visit IcelandicGlacial.com and on LinkedIn.
------
About Icelandic Glacial
Icelandic Glacial is the super-premium natural spring water, bottled at the source from Iceland’s legendary Ölfus Spring, which was formed more than 5,000 years ago and is shielded from pollution by an impenetrable barrier of lava rock. The spring produces water so pure that nothing is added or taken away. As a result, Icelandic Glacial possesses exceptional balance featuring a naturally low mineral content and a naturally alkaline pH of 8.4. Icelandic Glacial is further distinguished as the world’s first certified CarbonNeutral® natural spring bottled water for product and operation. Icelandic Glacial uses 100% natural green energy to fuel its production delivering a premium bottled water to discerning consumers around the world while maintaining a “net zero” carbon footprint.