Sprout Healthy Vending, LLC hired Bill Watson as director of operations working out of the Irvine, Calif. corporate office. Within this role, Watson will be responsible for the management and supervision of all operations personnel, forecasting and capacity planning, quality control, safety and compliance, purchasing, allocation of manufacturing assets, shipping and delivery, inventory control and training of Sprout operators.
"I am thrilled to be a part of an up and coming company like Sprout Healthy Vending," Watson said in a prepared statement. "I was even more interested in joining the team after discovering how professional and ethical they are when conducting business. Sprout is all about customer service and that is of the utmost importance to me. Sprout just seemed like the perfect fit."
Having been in the vending world for almost 16 years, Watson is very familiar with the industry. In August 2005, Watson accepted the position of general manager with Weymouth Distributing in Los Angeles, Calif., where he was given the opportunity to effect change in the way vending distribution is done in the state. In 2006, the California Automatic Vendors Council named him Supplier of the Year. He has attended the National Automatic Merchandising Association-Michigan State University Executive Development Program and plans to earn his NCE certification soon.
When talking about the vending industry Watson said, "I have found a real fit in the vending industry and expect to spend the remainder of my career here. It has allowed me to create some great working relationships as well as friendships that I am sure will last a lifetime."
A graduate from Azusa Pacific University in Azusa, Calif., Watson earned a B.S. degree in business management with an emphasis in organizational leadership. He is a native of Houston, Texas, but has lived in the Los Angeles area for the past 26 years. He and his wife Kathryn reside in Pasadena and recently had a baby boy named Aiden.
"Bill has an impressive track record that combines multiple management skills that makes him the right person for this position," Sprout co-founder Chris Wyland stated. "We are at an important point of our growth and we needed a person that was particularly adept at team building and problem solving to help us manage our operational needs. He is proven and well respected in the industry and we feel confident that as we continue to grow Bill will be able to see the big picture and help us plan accordingly for all."
Wyland added, "Chris Clasby has done an exceptional job of ramping the operations department up over the past year and will now move into a sales role. At a time when some of our competitors have experienced large turnover in their operations departments, we have had the fortune and stability of having one manager since the inception of the company. I am confident that Bill will carry the torch well and help us tremendously as we continue to add more Sprout Healthy Vending Operators throughout the country."
