The Talent Studios Recruits CEO for ZICO Coconut Water
September 17, 2024 – The Talent Studios has placed Chris Gallant as the new CEO of coconut water and hydration brand ZICO Coconut Water. Jeremy Cohen and Serena Smith led the assignment for The Talent Studios. Past CEO Tom Hicks will transition to chief commercial officer, continuing to lead ZICO’s sales and distribution efforts. “We are excited to welcome Chris to ZICO” said Mark Rampolla, chairman and founder of ZICO and co-managing partner of Ground Force Capital. “The rest of the board and I are confident that Chris will be an amazing leader who will help take ZICO through its next stages of growth. I also want to sincerely thank Tom for his leadership at ZICO and his unwavering dedication to rebuilding the team, brand and business to date. Tom will now be able to focus entirely on continuing to build distribution and expanding upon our best-in-class retail partnerships, two areas in which he absolutely excels.”
“I’m looking forward to partnering with Chris as we move into the next stages of significant growth,” said Mr. Hicks. “Chris has a proven track record of growing and scaling brands. I’m excited to work together to accelerate our existing momentum, realize the brand’s full potential and scale ZICO well beyond its height during the Coke years.”
Mr. Gallant most recently served as CEO of celebrity coffee brand, Chamberlain Coffee, growing it from a small startup to a brand found in over 12,000 retailers across the U.S. and Canada. He had formerly built an body of work within the beverage vertical at The Bronx Brewery, Heineken & Red Bull, and spent his early career as a management consultant at Bain & Company.
In his new position with ZICO, Mr. Gallant will be tasked with taking the brand to the next level, introducing it to new audiences, platforms, and product categories. “I am excited to be a part of ZICO, a brand that has been a leader in the coconut water category for years,” he said. “ZICO’s dedication to quality, sustainability, and offering refreshing, healthy beverages truly resonates with me. I look forward to collaborating with Mark and the talented team at ZICO to strengthen its foundation and elevate the brand to even greater heights.”
Founded in 2004, ZICO helped create the coconut water category and scaled to cultural prominence, ultimately to be acquired by Coca-Cola in 2013. In 2020, Mark Rampolla, the original ZICO Founder and currently the managing partner of Groundforce Partners, immediately reacquired the ZICO brand, built a luminary board and world-class executive team. Beloved by health-minded consumers and athletes, including investor and brand ambassador Naomi Osaka, ZICO stands out as the ultimate natural hydration drink.
Proven Search Firm
The Talent Studios is a business-to-consumer focused retained executive search firm, working across consumer technology, digital commerce, four-wall commerce & service businesses, iconic brands, entertainment, media & content and consumer services. Its vertical focus includes: fashion & apparel, food & beverage, beauty & personal care, lifestyle brands, action sports, fitness/wellness, creator economy, media & content, digital and physical consumer services (healthcare, FinTech, education, two-sided marketplaces). Its clients include: Apollo Global Management, Advent International, Andreessen Horowitz, Bain Capital, L Catterton, Red Bull, Mattel, Disney, Burton Snowboards, Restoration Hardware, Pure Barre, TOMS Shoes, Boardriders, Aston Martin, Fanatics, Health-Ade Kombucha, SmartyPants Vitamins, Lulus.com, Edmunds.com, Philz Coffee, and Public Goods.
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Mr. Cohen co-founded The Talent Studios in 2011 following early search experience at global executive search firm DHR Global, where he served as a principal in the firm’s retail/consumer and private equity practices. He has led pivotal leadership searches that have propelled privately held clients through growth to exit, as well as large scale transformation and performance enhancement at large public companies and brands. In addition to search, Mr. Cohen assists clients with performance management and assessment strategy.
The Talent Studios Recruits CEO for The Princeton Review
The Talent Studios has placed Robert Batten as the chief executive officer of The Princeton Review in New York. Jeremy Cohen and Serena Smith led the search assignment. Dr. Batten now also heads The Princeton Review’s affiliate company, Tutor.com, which helps institutions and organizations deliver 24/7, on-demand, personalized homework help at scale. “We are thrilled to have Bob leading our organization,” said Sadeepa Wijesekara, chief technology officer. “Given his track record of accelerating learner-focused product development, he could not have arrived at a better time to drive advances in our award-winning AI offerings and other trailblazing educational tools.”
Kelli Telling is co-founder and managing partner at The Talent Studios. She began her career in General Electric’s emerging leaders’ program and was a business unit operator at GE Lighting. Ms. Telling went on to lead technology product development at several venture-backed companies in Silicon Valley. Thereafter, she moved into successive management roles at Deloitte Consulting. Ms. Telling has substantial experience conducting leadership searches in finance, technology and marketing, and is a talent contributor to the Transworld Business publication.
Ms. Smith is entering her third year at The Talent Studios, where she support search execution on senior leadership searches. She joined The Talent Studios following graduation from Bucknell University.
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Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief and Dale M. Zupsansky, Executive Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
