One of the most important things about any company is their CEO. This is particularly important for an old company trying to become popular with a new crowd.
In his seven years as CEO for SodaStream, Daniel Birnbaum has propelled the company forward and helped it grow an international presence.
So who is Daniel Birnbaum?
Corporate Past
Daniel Birnbaum’s career in business starts with an MBA from Harvard and a BA from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. These qualifications, along with savvy style and intense networking skill, helped him get a job with Pillsbury. In 1995, he established Pillsbury Israel and became its CEO.
In 1999 he moved on to Nike Israel. He helped Nike establish its brand in Israel and become one of the most popular sporting goods brands there. He truly loved the company, but a great opportunity presented itself and in 2007 he decided to take on the challenge of resurrecting SodaStream’s popularity, accepting a position as CEO of SodaStream.
Recent History
When Daniel Birnbaum became the CEO of SodaStream the company had largely faded into the background, especially in North America and western Europe. In 2007 he started changing the company’s image and building a new marketing campaign that brought SodaStream to the forefront of attention all over the world.
In 2013 Daniel Birnbaum bought the first SodaStream Super Bowl ad. This was a huge step for the fairly small company.
Their original ad was actually banned from the Super Bowl because it specifically made a jab at both Coke and Pepsi, two of the largest Super Bowl supporters. They were forced to come up with a new ad that didn’t show either brand name, but both ads have since made it online and been discussed widely in different online communities, giving SodaStream even more publicity.
Curious to see how SodaStream managed to get their ad banned from the Super Bowl? You can take a look at both ads here.
Daniel Birnbaum has a long established history of helping old companies build presences in new places. Since he’s taken the helm of SodaStream he’s managed to bring it to the forefront of people’s minds all over the world.