Consumer >> CEO Interviews >> January 27, 2003
DONAL SHARP is President and Chief Executive Officer of Big Red
Inc. Mr. Sharp might attribute his management style to his years
in the business. He started working at 16 in the Dr Pepper
Bottling Co., in Danville, Kentucky, that his family bought in
1953. He began there because he grew up in it, and stayed with it
because of the people involved. His first job was the lowest job
in the plant. He eventually moved to Sales Manager before his
family sold the business in 1972. Then he joined Dr Pepper as a
Zone Manager covering Kentucky, Ohio and West Virginia. In 1975,
he went to work for Coca-Cola in Bowling Green, Kentucky, as a
General Sales Manager. Then in 1976, he made the move to Waco as
Executive Vice President of Big Red. Profile
TWST: Could you give us a brief history of Big Red as well as anoverview of what you do?
Mr. Sharp: We manufacture concentrate for the product Big Red. We
also have Diet Big Red, Big Peach