International Bottled Water Association | NEWS RELEASE | August 30, 2011
IBWA Announces New Vice President of Communications
Alexandria, VA – The International Bottled Water Association (IBWA) is pleased to announce that Christopher Hogan has joined IBWA as Vice President of Communications, effective August 29, 2011. Chris was most recently Director of Communications at the American Gas Association (AGA), where he dealt with several controversial and high profile issues. He directed AGA’s communications and online engagement operations and effectively utilized social media tools to expand key messages. “Chris has worked on national, state, and local issues and created and implemented a successful national grassroots advocacy campaign,” said Joe Doss, President and CEO of IBWA. “His experience working on behalf of a natural resource industry will serve him well as he communicates the facts about the bottled water industry to the media, consumers, legislators, regulators, and other opinion leaders.”
Chris previously worked in the communications and customer relations department of the American Petroleum Institute (API), and was a regulatory analyst at the Bureau of National Affairs (BNA) on environmental, healthcare, and taxation issues. He has a B.S. degree in political science from Northeastern University, and a master of international management and an M.B.A. from the University of Maryland University College.
He succeeds Tom Lauria, who will be leaving IBWA on September 30, 2011, to pursue writing a book on managing media relations for controversial issues.
Chris Hogan can be reached at 703.647.4609 or by e-mail at chogan@bottledwater.org.
# # #
Media Contact:
Chris Hogan
703.647.4609 office
The International Bottled Water Association (IBWA) is the authoritative source of information about all types of bottled waters, including spring, mineral, purified, artesian, and sparkling. Founded in 1958, IBWA’s membership includes U.S. and international bottlers, distributors and suppliers. IBWA is committed to working with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which regulates bottled water as a packaged food product, to set comprehensive and stringent standards for safe, high-quality bottled water products.
In addition to FDA regulations, IBWA member bottlers must adhere to the IBWA Bottled Water Code of Practice, which mandates additional standards and practices that in some cases are more stringent than federal and state regulations. A key feature of the IBWA Bottled Water Code of Practice is a mandatory annual plant inspection by an independent, third-party organization.
IBWA is proud to be a partner with Keep America Beautiful and a supporter of Drink Up, an initiative of former First Lady Michelle Obama and the Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA), which encourages Americans to drink more water more often – whether from the tap, a filter, or in a bottle. Choosing water is always the healthy choice.
