Natural Mineral Waters Europe (NMWE), representing the interests of over five hundred natural mineral and spring water producers in Europe, named Alessandro Pasquale, CEO and owner of Mattoni 1873, as its new president for the next two years. Mr. Pasquale, a Swiss-Italian national (originally from Padua) is the second generation owner of the Kmv Group (Karlovarské minerální vody) in the Czech Republic, leader in mineral waters and soft drinks in Central Europe. Pasquale assumed leadership of Mattoni 1873 from his father in 2007 and has expanded the family business from Czech Republic to eight European countries, employing more than 3,000 people.

“Natural mineral and spring water producers provide citizens with natural and unique products. We work to safeguard their precious water resources by protecting the catchment areas around their sources to assure the purity of our mineral waters. Caring for the environment also means promoting biodiversity and making our business sustainable and circular. For decades, we have been embarking on a pathway towards sustainability and today, our sector has a unique opportunity to become fully circular. Our packaging, whether glass and PET, is fully recyclable and already achieving comparatively high collection rates. With the right EU policy measures in place, we can reach full circularity”, says Mr. Pasquale. 

Mr. Pasquale follows in the footsteps of Ms. Muriel Lienau, CEO of Nestlé Waters in Europe, Middle East and North Africa who served as NMWE President since September 2020. Under Ms. Lienau’s leadership, NMWE’s active commitment towards sustainability and circularity was reinforced by its signing of the EU Code of Conduct for Responsible Business and Marketing Practices in June 2021. It is also under and the publication of NMWE’s ‘Key success factors for efficient Deposit Refund Systems’ in early 2020. 

“I would like to thank our outgoing president, Ms. Muriel Lienau, for her determination in translating the sector’s ambitious vision into concrete actions under the EU Code of Conduct. Under her guidance, NMWE remained a strong and reliable partner for EU stakeholders but also for their member SMEs and local communities in driving the sustainability agenda forward”, says NMWE Secretary General, Patricia Fosselard. “I am delighted to welcome Mr. Pasquale as our new president and am looking forward to working with him in the upcoming years. Mr. Pasquale’s expertise and passion for circularity is second to none. We have no doubt that he will play an incremental role in pushing the shared packaging vision of our industry one step further”. 

The new president will be supported by new board members, also announced by NMWE today. They are: Paco Vallejo, President of ANEABE, Spain; Gavin Partington, Director General of the British Soft Drinks Association; and Antoine Portmann, General Manager of Evian Volvic International at Danone Waters. Jürgen Reichle, CEO of Verband Deutscher Mineralwasser (VDM), takes over as Treasurer.