TORONTO, ON and TAMPA, FL--(Marketwired - Jun 24, 2016) - Cott Corporation announced that its CEO Jerry Fowden received the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2016 Award in the Corporate Innovator category in Florida. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the EY Entrepreneur of the Year Award program. The award recognizes outstanding entrepreneurs who demonstrate excellence and extraordinary success in such areas as innovation, financial performance, and personal commitment to their businesses and communities. Mr. Fowden was selected by an independent panel of judges.
"Since I became CEO at Cott, we have seen dramatic changes in the beverage market as consumers have become increasingly health conscious and began drinking better for you beverages. In response to changing consumer trends, we developed a strategy to strengthen and diversify the business and progressively move Cott towards being a leader in better for you beverages and healthy hydration. This strategy has moved Cott from a position of volume stability to a growth oriented company with higher free cash flows, lower customer concentration, and hence lower risk," commented Jerry Fowden, Cott's Chief Executive Officer. "I am pleased to be recognized for Cott's achievements and success and I want to thank all of our Cott employees for their hard work over the last several years. With their ongoing support, as well as the support of our Board of Directors and shareowners, I look forward to continue building Cott into a stronger more diversified and growth oriented business," continued Mr. Fowden.
Since 1986, EY has honored entrepreneurs whose ingenuity, spirit of innovation and discipline have propelled their companies' success, invigorated their industries, and benefited their communities. Now in its 30th year, the program has honored the inspirational leadership of such entrepreneurs as Howard Schultz of Starbucks Coffee Company, Robert Unanue of Goya Foods, and Mindy Grossman of HSN. Recent US national winners include Reid Hoffman and Jeff Weiner of LinkedIn; Hamdi Ulukaya, founder of Chobani; and 2015 winners Andreas Bechtolsheim and Jayshree Ullal of Arista Networks.
As a Florida award winner, Mr. Fowden is now eligible for consideration for the Entrepreneur of the Year 2016 national program. Award winners in several national categories, as well as the Entrepreneur of the Year National Overall Award winner, will be announced at the Entrepreneur of the Year National Awards gala in Palm Springs, California, on November 19, 2016. The awards are the culminating event of the Strategic Growth Forum™, the nation's most prestigious gathering of high-growth, market-leading companies. The US Entrepreneur of the Year Overall Award winner then moves on to compete for the World Entrepreneur Of The Year Award in Monaco, June 2017.
About Cott Corporation
With the acquisition of DS Services of America, Inc., Cott combined a leading provider in the direct-to-consumer beverage services industry with its traditional business, one of the world's largest producers of beverages on behalf of retailers, brand owners and distributors. Cott now has the largest volume-based national presence in the U.S. home and office delivery industry for bottled water and one of the five largest national market share positions in the U.S. office coffee services and filtration services industries. Cott reaches over 1.5 million customers (approximately 60% commercial and 40% residential) through over 2,000 routes located across its national network supported by national sales and distribution facilities, as well as a fleet of over 2,000 vehicles. Cott's broad portfolio allows it to offer, on a direct-to-consumer basis, a variety of bottled water, coffee, brewed tea, water dispensers, coffee and tea brewers and filtration equipment. With the ability to cover approximately 90% of U.S. households, in terms of geography, Cott believes it has the broadest distribution network in the direct-to-consumer beverage services industry in the United States, which enables it to efficiently service residences and small and medium size businesses, as well as national corporations, universities and government agencies.
