Premier Waters hires top US marketer

Premier Waters, the Danone division which distributes Evian, Volvic and Badoit mineral waters, has brought in David Graham from its US operation as marketing director.

Graham takes up the role on February 1, and will stand in for head of marketing Christine Renier who is taking maternity leave and will return on a part-time basis in the spring.

Graham has worked for Danone since 1988, when he joined HP Foods as marketing manager. He then worked in Paris as European marketing manager of the biscuit division and went on to become international marketing manager of DIB, the US marketing arm. He is now a national account manager for spring waters at DIB. At Premier, he will report to managing director Corinna Ortner, who joined in May from Danone Dairy Products in Germany.

The appointment comes as Danone presses ahead with its $1.1bn (&£666m) acquisition of the packaged water unit of McKesson HBOC, which markets brands such as Sparkletts, Alhambra and Crystal. The purchase will make Danone the second largest bottled water company in the US.

Bottled water sales in the UK continue to grow. According to a report by Premier, UK consumers drink an average of 16 litres of mineral water per head each year and this will increase to 20 litres by 2001.