Sneak appoints new head for energy drink firm
Read joins the company from sports nutrition brand Science in Sport, where he spent the past nine years across a number of senior roles – most recently he held the position of chief operating officer, having moved his way up through the business from head of international sales in 2013.
Prior to his time with Science in Sport, Read spent four years with Britvic Soft Drinks in marketing roles. He started his career in the drinks industry with a sales role at AB InBev.
Joining the business
Commenting on his appointment, Read said: “Sneak Energy is a creative and dynamic brand, with a highly loyal and engaged community of consumers, something I think is incredibly valuable – especially against the backdrop of a tough consumer climate, and something I’m really looking forward to getting involved with in the coming years.
“Alongside our chair Robert, and our investors True, I’m looking forward to bringing all that I’ve learnt from the sports nutrition industry to a brand that’s truly reimagining its category.”
New chair
Read’s appointment followed former Coca-Cola Company chief customer and commercial officer (2005-2009) Robert Leechman joining Sneak as chair earlier this year. He holds a variety of non-executive positions across the food and beverage and manufacturing categories including Wild Nutrition and Hereford Contract Canning Company.
Leechman added: “I’m thrilled to have Ashley at the helm of this next chapter in Sneak’s journey. It is a challenging market but one that Sneak has all the ingredients to weather, with the popularity of its recent Breakfast Orange flavour launch demonstrating how supportive its loyal community is, as well as its skill in flexing its creativity.”
Meanwhile, last month, Morrisons chief operating officer Trevor Strain announced he was to step down from the role.
