Innocent makes top marketer Lamont CEO

Innocent has promoted its group marketing and innovation director Douglas Lamont to the CEO position following Coca-Cola’s move to increase its stake in the business to near 100 per cent.

Douglas Lamont
Innocent’s new CEO Douglas Lamont.

The Coca-Cola equity increase prompted Innocent’s co-founders Richard Reed, Adam Balon and Jon Wright to step away from the day to day running of the business and the formation of a new leadership team.

In light of Lamont’s promotion, Innocent’s current European marketing head and former Red Bull marketer Franz Bruckner will take on the group marketing and innovation director role. Further job changes and appointments are expected to be announced later this month.

Richard Reed, Innocent co-founder, says: “Douglas is a true believer in the Innocent ethos, has a great track record, is passionate about the company and its values and is therefore the ideal person to lead the business, supported by our fantastic board.”

Lamont joined Innocent Drinks from Freeserve in 2006 as the company’s head of new opportunities. He became managing director of its This Water brand in 2007, a role which he held for almost three years before becoming director of innovation.

He moved into the marketing and innovation director role in February 2012, following the departure of the previous incumbent Thomas Delabriere who left to join Mars Chocolate as marketing director.

Innocent registered £213.5m in value sales in 2012, up 36.3 per cent year on year, according to the latest Britvic Soft Drinks Report.

The company is focusing the majority of its marketing efforts on building the size of its juices business and direct to consumer marketing activity such as experiential and social as it looks to regain its “entrepreneurial” spirit despite being owned by the world’s biggest soft drinks manufacturer.

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