Experience

 

Mr. Henry R. Hidell

Mr. Henry R. Hidell, III, Chairman

Mr. Hidell is the founder and Chairman of Hidell-Eyster International. Through Hidell-Eyster he has provided a broad spectrum of consulting services in the area of water resource management, bottled water, and the beverage industry since the company’s founding in1968. In its original consulting format the company  specialized in water resource management and environmental issues including hazardous materials remediation of aqueous environments. Today, Hidell-Eyster is considered one of the premier beverage consultants in the world.

Mr. Hidell’s expertise spans the spectrum of business, technical and educational services provided by the firm, with specific expertise in the formulation of business strategies, mergers and acquisitions, and turnkey development of beverage bottling facilities. Mr. Hidell is recognized as an expert in international economic development with emphasis on captial formation in underdeveloped economies.

He has actively participated in the development of beverage industry organi-zations, companies, and facilities in North America, Europe, Latin America, Asia, Australia and Russia. In 1995, his proposal for standards to regulate trade of mineralized water was adopted by the South American Free Trade Organization (MERCOSUR). He has completed water and beverage related projects in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Europe, Latin America, North America, Russia, China and Micronesia.

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 recent past Chairman and remains a member of the Board of the International Council of Bottled Water Associations (ICBWA) which has recently been named the only non-governmental organization (NGO) permitted to represent the industry before the Codex Commission on bottled water issues and regulatory matters.  This status was achieved during his guidance as Chairman of the ICBWA. He is also a member of the Council of International Experts of the Association Internationale de la Distribution (Bruxelles) as well as President of its North American Chapter. This Brussels-based organization specializes in issues of the distributive trade of retail products on a global basis. He is a member of the International Society of Beverage Technologists. He serves as a Technical Advisor on water matters to the United States Information Agency (USIA). He is a former member of the Board of Directors of the Neverfail Spring Water Company, a publicly held company in Sydney, Australia recently purchased by Coca-Cola. Mr. Hidell is the former Chairman of the Board of Iroquois Water, Ltd., Cornwall, Ontario, a Canadian First Nations (Native American) Corporation. He has recently been named to the Board of Directors of PureSafe Water Systems, Inc., a public company based in Plainview, New York which has designed and manufactured an innovative water treatment and decontaminant technology for First Responder application in emergencies. Mr. Hidell is a long term, in-house scientific, product development and management consultant toTata Tea Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Tata, a 137 year old company based in Mumbai, India.

Mr. Hidell has been invited to participate in numerous international congresses involving water resources, beverages and bottled water.  He has presented a key policy speech at the United Nations regarding the future of international boundary waters and a recently presented speech in Dubai, UAE, about the future of enhanced beverages as a part of the “new approach to human health.” He has presented a recent speech to the Canadian Bottled Water Association on the “Future of Bottled Water.” He has published to date several hundred articles in professional journals and trade journals, and contributed to various chapters in books addressing water and beverage related issues.  

He was inducted into the Beverage World Magazine/International Bottled Water Association’s Bottled Water Hall of Fame in 2001. This is the highest honor granted for service in the bottled water industry.

His 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.

Mr. Hidell resides in Hingham, MA, USA.

 

 

 

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