Smartwater Names Zendaya as Brand Ambassador
As Smartwater’s global brand ambassador, acclaimed actor and performer Zendaya will appear in a series of new creative from the brand and support community water programs that will directly affect thousands of women.
Created in partnership with VMLY&R and WPP/OpenX, the campaign creative began rolling out in the United States from June 21 across television, audio, social and streaming channels, with global markets to follow. The campaign celebrates those who keep it smart, whatever the choice, and aren’t afraid to free themselves from the restraints of convention.
Zendaya will work with Smartwater to support community water quality and access improvements in various cities around the world, starting with Zendaya’s hometown of Oakland, Calif., by partnering with the Global Water Challenge – a coalition of leading organizations collaborating to achieve universal access to clean drinking water. In the United Stttes alone, 2.2 million people have no water at home and 44 million Americans are served by water systems that don’t function optimally.
The brand, GWC and Zendaya are launching the Smart Solutions: Global Water Challenge, which will invite local organizations to apply for grant funding to GWC’s women for water action platform that uplifts women and their communities through the power of clean water access. These efforts build on more than a decade of investments in clean water access around the world from The Coca-Cola Company, which have reached more than 18.5 million people since 2010. GWC’s work has proven that with access to clean water, people, especially women and girls, are healthier, safer, educated and employed.
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Amber Beverage Group Taps Ruslan Romanenko as CFO
Amber Beverage Group has appointed Ruslan Romanenko as group chief financial officer. Romanenko is a senior financial executive with over 25 years of experience in the industry and becomes part of the ABG executive board.
Before joining ABG, Romanenko worked as chief financial officer at Nemiroff, one of the leading vodka producers in Ukraine. Prior to this, he held similar executive roles at companies that included TerraFood, Bunge, and Philip Morris Ukraine. As well as being an experienced financial manager, Romanenko is able to develop and lead large multicultural finance and accounting teams.
“I am thrilled to have been appointed to this key role by Amber Beverage Group,” Romanenko said. “This global company, which has operations in several countries, will bring interesting and exciting new challenges where I can use my experience to help drive further growth. I am already enjoying my new environment as this role entailed a move from Kyiv to Riga. I am especially proud to join a company that has been offering so much practical and financial support to the people of Ukraine.”
Amber Beverage Group is a rapidly growing global spirits company, whose products are found in millions of households and venues across the globe. ABG’s core brands are Moskovskaya Vodka, Rooster Rojo Tequila, KAH Tequila, The Irishman Whiskey, Writers’ Tears Whiskey, Riga Black Balsam, Cross Keys Gin and Cosmopolitan Diva.
ABG produces, bottles, markets, distributes, exports, and retails a comprehensive range of beverages of which it owns more than 100 and is responsible for marketing and distributing 1,300 third-party drinks brands, spanning everything from premium vodka and sparkling wines to specialty Mexican tequilas and Irish whiskey.
The company has grown from its original core production business in the pan-Baltic region established in 1900, to a global spirits industry player that unites around 2,050 employees in almost 20 companies including Austria, Australia, the Baltic States, Germany, Ireland, Mexico, and the United Kingdom.
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Joe Parisi Named President of Gristedes & D’Agostino Supermarkets
Joe Parisi has been appointed as president of Gristedes & D’Agostino’s, Manhattan’s largest chain of supermarkets. Parisi holds the titles of president and chief operating officer of the 30-location New York City supermarket chain, bringing with him four decades of experience in the food and grocery industry.
Parisi joined Gristedes & D’Agostino in 2021 after more than three decades with Kings Food Markets, Inc./Balducci’s KB US Holdings Companies in New Jersey. Until 2021, Parisi was chief operating officer and board member at Kings, overseeing 33 high-end supermarkets across four states.
“His passion for the food industry is remarkable and will take the supermarket industry into the 21st century,” said John Catsimatidis, chairman/CEO of Red Apple Group. “He has a great vision for the 132-year-old Gristedes and 90-year-old D’Agostino, and we are confident that his leadership will bring our stores to new heights.”
Parisi assumed his new role on June 14. Parisi resides in Rockaway, N.J., with his wife, Gina, and three children, Joseph, Gianna and Jayson.
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