FOCUS Brands announced that the executive leadership team for its Jamba Juice brand is now complete with the hiring of Geoff Henry as the company’s president, Shivram Vaideeswaran as Chief Marketing Officer and the promotion of Jaime Denney to VP of Operations. Consistent with FOCUS Brands’ structure, Henry will report to Kat Cole, president and COO, North America, FOCUS Brands.
FOCUS Brands acquired Jamba Juice in a tender offer transaction in September of 2018, taking the company private. Since the acquisition, FOCUS Brands has built a talented Jamba Juice leadership team and accelerated key planned investments, including an integrated, elevated consumer-facing digital ecosystem and consumer-driven healthier menu innovation, as well as a refreshed brand and store design that will enhance the guest experience.
“I am thrilled to have a strong leadership team in place to advance the innovation, growth and fan love in this beloved brand,” Cole says.
“Leadership of our brands is critical to building guest-centered businesses,” adds Steve DeSutter, CEO of FOCUS Brands. “Geoff, Shivram and Jaime are excellent additions. Their talent and industry experiences, combined with their passion for health and wellness, will be a powerful combination in fueling Jamba’s continued success.”
Geoff Henry comes to Jamba from Coca Cola, where he led lifestyle and beverage business growth in the water, tea and coffee divisions with large brands such as Honest Tea and Honest Kids, and entrepreneurial brands like Peace Tea. He previously held marketing and brand roles at Colgate-Palmolive and finance roles at JP Morgan in real estate investment banking.
Shivram Vaideeswaran was most recently CMO of Blaze Pizza following his time at Tender Greens and Taco Bell, where he held menu, innovation and marketing roles during high growth years, building lifestyle food brands in primarily franchised environments.
Jaime Denney has been promoted to VP of Operations after previous operations and leadership roles at Jamba Juice, Tropical Smoothie Café, Aramark and Starbucks. She brings over 16 years of experience in the food and beverage industry to her new role.