When Mark Murray took over as CEO of quirky beverage maker Jones Soda last year, the seasoned 61-year-old food executive would frequently get asked by friends and business associates a simple question: Why?
Murray, who was "retired" but spent his time doing consulting work and reviewing businesses for private equity firms to "kind of stay in the game," confesses he "wasn't really anxious to jump into anything" after nearly 40 years in the food space working for companies including Campbell Soup and Kraft Foods. Things quickly changed last April when Jamie Colbourne came on as interim CEO amid an executive shakeup at the struggling 25-year-old company. Colbourne, now Jones' chairman, asked his friend and business partner Murray to help.