Kristjan Olafsson: Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder

Kristjan Olafsson brings a broad range of business, sales and marketing experience to his role as Chief Executive Officer for Icelandic Water Holdings, ehf, where he is a key player in driving Icelandic Glacial’s North American growth strategy, marketing, consumer and industry outreach.

His diverse professional experience, which includes positions in the hospitality, technology, media and entertainment industries, will play a significant role in his success as he works to increase distribution and awareness for the Icelandic Glacial brand.

Olafsson acquired the exploitation rights to the Ölfus Spring, the source of Icelandic Glacial, in December 2003. The spring is one of the largest in the world, and the water from this environmentally pure source boasts one of the lowest total dissolved solid (TDS) levels – just 68ppm.

In 2004, Olafsson teamed with Jon Olafsson and now-Icelandic Water Holdings, ehf, COO Patrick Racz to introduce the world to Icelandic Glacial as one of the newest, naturally purest and highest quality super-premium waters. Together, the team set up a state-of-the-art production facility in Iceland, created the award-winning brand and bottle design for Icelandic Glacial and set up distribution in the Netherlands, U.S. and Canada.

Prior to his current role with Icelandic Glacial, Olafsson worked as a consultant, director and CEO for a number of established, industry leading and start-up companies. One of his key positions included two years as CEO of Room Service Deliveries – a UK-based restaurant delivery service that delivers freshly prepared, made to order dishes from the top restaurants in London. While at the helm of Room Service Deliveries, Olafsson streamlined the company’s infrastructure, implemented a new ordering and logistic system for the company and introduced a magazine publication to raise the profile and image of the company.

His early marketing and management prowess also led to a successful tenure as director for Northern Lights Communications, Inc., Iceland’s leading entertainment media company and Innn ltd., a leading software company in Iceland. Olafsson served as CEO of Innn ltd. from 1998-2002 and helped grow the company into one of Iceland’s leading software houses as he successfully worked to raise the profile of Innn in the Icelandic market.

Olafsson is a native Icelander and a graduate of the Commercial College of Iceland. In 2007, he made the official move to the U.S. where he currently leads the Los Angeles-based U.S. headquarters for Icelandic Glacial and serves as a Sales & Marketing liaison with Icelandic Glacial’s newest distribution partner Anheuser-Busch.