Jones Soda chairman/CEO Peter van Stolk to step down

SEATTLE Peter van Stolk will remain on as a member of the board of directors, while board members Scott Bedbury and Steve Jones will take on the interim positions of chairman and chief executive officer respectively, while the company conducts a search for a new chief executive officer.

“It has been a true honor being so intimately involved with such a special Company like Jones Soda,” van Stolk said. “Over the past 11 years the Company has grown from a small niche player in the beverage industry into a leading brand with national recognition and powerful portfolio of products.”

Prior to joining Jones Soda, board member Jones spent 17 years with The Coca-Cola Company serving most recently as the corporation’s chief marketing officer and chief executive officer of The Minute Maid Company.

Interim chairman of the board Bedbury is currently chief executive officer of Brandstream, an independent brand development consultancy he founded in 1998. He is also responsible for Nike’s “Just Do It” campaign, and Starbucks’ repositioning as a comfortable “third place” between home and work.