Martin Coles has helped develop worldwide megabrands Nike and Pepsi.
Until recently, he was responsible for the global operations (across 51 countries) of Starbucks Coffee International.
But Coles left what he calls “the traditional corporate world” in 2009, and after spending a couple of years advising small business owners and management teams on growth strategies, he recently took the reins as CEO of HaloSource, parent company of SeaKlear, based in Seattle.
It may seem a far cry from his previous job profiles, but from Coles’ vantage point, as well as the company’s, it was a logical move. After all, he’d served on the board of HaloSource since July 2011; his specialties include consumer marketing and building brands; and he holds a degree in biochemistry from the University of Wales.
“I’m very much looking forward to bringing meaningful, consumer-focused innovation to this industry,” he said, “and a lot of that is demystifying the science and looking at the delivery systems.
“We have so much technology and engineering around what we do, but I’m not sure that we’re always able to have that conversation with the consumer,” he added. “Do they really understand what we’re asking them to do and why we’re asking them to do it?”
Coles has been in his current role since late last year, when he replaced Chief Executive Officer John Kaestle following Kaestle’s resignation in October.
HaloSource is a publicly traded company listed under the symbol HAL on the London Stock Exchange. It reported 2011 revenues of approximately $12 million, the large majority of which ($10 million) was derived from its water clarification business.
