Ex-Hawaii FoodBank Jack Stern, a former president and current board member of the Hawaii FoodBank, has been selected as president and chief executive officer of Hawaiian Natural Water Co.
exec tapped to lead
Hawaiian Natural Water
Jack Stern has more than
20 years' experience in the
food and beverage industryStar-Bulletin staff
Amcon Distributing Co., which made Hawaiian Natural a wholly owned subsidiary after finalizing its $2.87 million takeover earlier this month, said Stern will oversee the completion of the upgrades under way at Hawaiian Natural's Big Island bottling facility, as well as supervising the rollout of the brand in North America.
Stern, a long-time Honolulu resident, previously served as general manager and director of business development for General Foods Corp., Hawaii region and South Pacific, for more than 20 years.
"We feel Jack is the ideal person to head up Hawaiian Natural Water because of his extensive experience in the food and beverage industry and his many ties to the Hawaii market," said Amcon Chairman and CEO Bill Wright.
Marcus Bender, who previously occupied the positions taken over by Stern, will become the vice chairman and report directly to Wright.
Bender will serve as chairman of the board of Hawaiian Natural and director of special projects, focusing on expansion efforts in the Japanese market, the food service industry in North America, and special niche opportunities in the health and fitness markets.
Wright, Stern and Bender will serve as the initial board of directors, with additional members to be announced in the future.
Amcon's stock closed up 6 cents yesterday at $4.70.