Snipple Appoints Tom Toumazis as New Chair

Snipple Group has tapped Tom Toumazis, a former ITV, The Walt Disney Company, Eurosport, Endemol Shine and Yahoo! exec, as non-executive chair.

Toumazis will provide Snipple support to initiate further commercial growth and advise on all aspects of business and corporate strategy. He will work to expand Snipple’s network and help manage relationships between directors and investors, as well as lead on corporate governance and duty.

Toumazis previously held roles as executive VP and managing director for EMEA and Canada of Disney-ABC-ESPN Television and chief commercial officer at Endemol. In the last five years, he has become a portfolio director, investor and adviser, focused on technology, media and the arts.

In January, Snipple launched a new original content division to develop homegrown IP, backed by the U.K.’s BGF, which has invested £6 million.

Toumazis said: “I was immediately inspired by the quality of Snipple’s animation and impressed by Kaine (CEO) and the global business he and the entire team have built. It’s also evident that BGF is extremely committed to helping us grow, and that’s something that’s been very encouraging for the whole business.”

He added: “This content space is hugely appealing to me, having spent many years in this area. It’s a tremendous and exciting ambition to build an originals business and something that I wanted to be part of.”

Snipple Group CEO, Kaine Patel, said: “Tom has incredible experience and commercial acumen. He is the perfect person to help take us to the next level. Combined with BGF, we have a stellar leadership team in place!”

Tom McDonnell, investor at BGF, said: “We’re delighted to welcome Tom Toumazis to Snipple. His appointment is another huge step forward in Snipple’s ambition to become a globally recognized animation production business. We look forward to working with Tom and Kaine on the next stage of the business’ growth.”