Jones Soda Co. (NASDAQ: JSDA – News) board of directors appointed Joth Ricci president and CEO, effective May 1, 2009. Ricci, who has served as the company’s COO since January 22, 2008, succeeds Stephen Jones, who is stepping down but will continue as a member of the board of directors.

Prior to joining Jones Soda, Ricci served as General Manager of Portland, Oregon-based Columbia Distributing Company. During his time with Columbia Distributing, Ricci also held the position of vice president of human resources & process improvement, as well as regional vice president of sales and marketing. Before joining Columbia Distributing he spent more than nine years with McNeil Consumer Healthcare / Johnson & Johnson in various Sales and Marketing Management roles.

“Joth has proven his ability to execute over the course of this transitional year and we are confident that he is the right choice to lead the ongoing evolution and development of Jones Soda,” says Steve Jones.