Mr. Hidell is the founder of Hidell International. He has provided consulting services to the beverage, drinking water, food and nutrition industries since 1972. His professional expertise spans the spectrum of business, technical, and educational services with specific expertise in the formulation of business strategies, mergers and acquisitions, and turnkey development of beverage bottling facilities. He is recognized as an expert in international economic and business development.

Mr. Hidell has actively participated in the development of beverage industry organizations, trade groups and production facilities throughout the world. In 1995, his proposal to establish standards and regulate trade of mineralized water was adopted by the South American Free Trade Organization (MERCOSUR).

Mr. Hidell is a member of the Executive Committee and former member of the Board of Directors of the International Bottled Water Association (IBWA). He is the Supplier Representative to the International Council of Bottled Water Associations, a member of the Council of International Experts of the Association Internationale de la Distribution, and a member of the International Society of Beverage Technologists. He was inducted into the Beverage World Magazine/International Bottled Water Association’s Bottled Water Hall of Fame in 2001.

Academic training includes an undergraduate degree in geology/hydrogeology from West Chester University and a Graduate degree in Land Use Planning and International Economic Development from Southern Illinois University.

Kathleen Ransome, Managing Director, The Equity Partners. As Managing Director of The Equity Partners, Kathleen brings 25 years of economic and financial experience, including mergers and acquisitions, due diligence, valuation, and strategies to enhance shareholder value. While the majority of her work has been for client companies, she has also worked with multi-lateral agencies on a number of projects. She was invited by the Vietnamese government to investigate bottled water investment opportunities, was the lead person on a World Bank financed study for export of bottled water for the Ethiopian Beverages Corporation, and was engaged by the International Joint Commission to evaluate the movement of water between Canada and the United States. Her knowledge of finance and economics as well as her understanding of business management come from her decades of experience in the bottled water and beverage industries.

Ms. Ransome studied business at Babson College, economics at Dartmouth College, and has an undergraduate scientific background. She is a College Scholar, Magna Cum Laude, and Phi Beta Kappa graduate from Middlebury College. Ms. Ransome has been active in the International Bottled Water Association, serving on the International Relations, Member Services, Membership, Communications, and Government Relations Committees.

Dr. Thomas Brewer, with a Ph.D. in hydrogeology and an undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering, provides technical consulting services to the company client base. He has specialized in the beverage industry worldwide for over three decades. He evaluates water sources to determine their feasibility to support commercial bottling operations, and designs water collection systems and transfer stations. In addition to water resource evaluation and development, Dr. Brewer oversees activities related to quality control including conformity of source water and final product with government regulations, compliance of manufacturing practices with government regulations, design and installation of water treatment systems, and emergency response to water quality problems. He has prepared applications for many companies to successfully obtain state licenses to sell bottled water in the US.

Dr. Brewer has served on the Technical Committee of the International Bottled Water Association. In that capacity, he has been instrumental in the development of the IBWA Model Bottled Water Regulation and in the development of criteria to determine whether a water source is a spring. Dr. Brewer has written numerous technical articles on the industry.