TEAM BIOS
Ed Hager has 35 years of sales and marketing experience in the food and beverage industry, beginning his business career with Merchants Distributors, Inc. in 1974 as a Director of Grocery Sales. Ed then accepted an assignment with Kimberly Clark Corporation in 1981, where he held many key positions within the company, including Area Manager, National Training Director, Division Training Director, and Sales Associate.
Ed began his career with The Coca-Cola Company in 1987 as an Area Market Development Manager. Ed began to develop his skill as a sales manager throughout the state of Georgia, spending seven years in Coca-Cola’s sales department before becoming the Director of Key Accounts in Atlanta. In 1997, Ed moved into an executive-level position for Coca-Cola.
Ed spent his last 11 years serving as a senior-level executive. His positions included:
• Vice President of Sales and Marketing Atlanta Division
• Vice President and General Manager Michigan Division
• Vice President of Supermarket Sales for the Atlanta Division of Coca-Cola Enterprises.
• Vice President of Supermarket Sales for the Southeast U.S.
Ed Hager Partner
Joel is an accomplished Senior Executive and Board Member, with demonstrated success across the food production, consumer goods and retail industries. Leveraging extensive experience in management for consumer services companies, he is a valuable asset for mid- sized to established companies, seeking assistance with branding, business development, strategic planning, and budgeting. His broad areas of expertise include sales improvement, P&L management, cost analysis, and people management.Throughout his executive career, Joel has held leadership positions with Pro-Form
Group LLC, Sara Lee Corporation, and George Weston Bakeries / Unilever. In his current role as Partner with Pro-Form Group LLC, he has been responsible for moving food and beverage products into the marketplace, as well as participating in brand development and product launch for clients. During his time with Unilever, he assisted in restructuring internal operations, building a new distribution model and implementing it across the East Coast, while also successfully consolidating three delivery systems into one. In a prior role as Director of Sales with Sara Lee Corporation, he oversaw a $190M budget and 10 direct reports. Moreover, he secured $14.4M in new revenue for the organization by developing relationships with key decision-makers, and strengthened the company’s sales team by replacing four out of 10 Portfolio Development Managers with top talent. Notably, he expanded the company’s market into new regions never before accessed.
Joel Thompson Partner
Kevin Soles has 25 years of sales, marketing, and operation experience in the beverage and food industry, beginning his business career with Coca Cola in 1986. Kevin started his career in roles that developed key experience in warehouse and logistics knowledge before moving into a customer and sales role in 1990.
Kevin spent his last 12 years serving as a senior- level executive in the Coca Cola System. His positions included:
• Vice President of Cold Drink Operations Southeast U.S.
• Vice President of “On Premise” Sales Southeast
• Vice President Foodservice Eastern U.S.
• Vice President of Business Development for the East and Central U.S. Markets.
In 2011, Kevin joined Pro Form Group as a partner and has built out multiple areas of expertise inside of the company to include retail, foodservice, natural specialty, and distribution.
Kevin currently is the Managing Partner for Pro Form Group and leads client, investor, and brand relationships across multiple segments of the beverage and food industry
Todd Hansen has over 30 years experience in business development with a demonstrated history of success working in the food & beverages industry. Skilled in area of Sales, Sales Operations, Retail Customer Development, Marketing Strategy and Human Resources.
Todd’s career highlights include the following:
• Area Vice President Coca Cola Enterprises - Michigan Division
• Director of Human Resources Coca Cola Enterprises - Michigan Division
• Division Vice President Sara Lee Bakery Group - Michigan Division
• Director of Key Accounts - Sara Lee Bakery Group - Michigan Division
• Division General Manager -Frontier Communications - Michigan Division
• Director of Sales Campbell’sBolthouse Farms - Midwest Region
• VP of Sales Sky Valley Foods - Danville Virginia