Focusing on the development of innovative products and serving customers with integrity and hard work, Ahmed Green has helped and led companies towards growth and success.
When he started out as an entrepreneur, he co-founded a marketing firm in Charlotte, North Carolina, calling it Evolve Media. The company provides marketing services to its clients including promotions that are being executed through talent publicity and events, management of brand portfolios, and consultation.
Ahmed served as Evolve’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) in the past and worked with esteemed beverage businesses like Beam Suntory, Carolina Global, Empire Distributors, Pernod Ricard, Southern Wine & Spirits, and Proximo Spirits, and established apparel companies including Jimmy Jazz and DTLR.
In addition to building and leading his own firm, he also had the opportunity to share his knowledge and expertise with B.A.D. Inc. as a Marketing Consultant. B.A.D. is a multicultural organization that specializes in experiential branding. Among its clients are world-renowned brands like Burger King, Sprite, Disney, Toyota, Charmer-Sunbelt, Bacardi USA, Miller Coors, and Boost Mobile.
At present, Ahmed is Premier Brand Sciences’ VP of Beverage Market Research. He also co-founded this health and wellness company that is headquartered in Charlotte, NC.
Inspired to positively impact communities, a team of excellent health and wellness professionals, researchers, and scientists at Premier conduct extensive investigations that lead to the development of nutritional beverages fit for its customers’ health needs.
As the VP of Beverage Market Research, Ahmed helps develop innovative beverage concepts based on an extensive analysis of beverage trends and current market segments. In addition, he is part of all the company’s expansion activities and is in charge of building and cultivating relationships with partners/vendors.
Being an entrepreneur for several years, one of his proudest moments is executing the launch for Seagram’s Twisted Gin Flavors which became one of the most successful campaign’s of the company in the history of South Carolina. And with great performances such as this, his company gained recognition a couple of times.
Outside work, Ahmed takes pride in his wife and his only son. They usually bond over watching movies or playing sports.
Apart from that, Ahmed spends his spare time reading business books or novels and writing. He also invests his time, effort, and resources to give back to his community.
How did you get started in the health and wellness industry?
It is my and my business partner’s goal to help more people transition to living a healthy lifestyle. For the past few years, people have started to see the real importance of taking care of their bodies. Many have finally realized that we should take health matters seriously because we only have one body and one life to live. And if we want to do great things and achieve our goals, we should keep this in mind: A healthy body leads to a healthy mind.
Through the healthy beverages that we are producing, we are hoping to bring positive change to the lives of many people.
What aspect of your job do you enjoy the most?
Aside from being able to work with talented and hardworking individuals, I am thrilled about having the opportunity to do great things not only for the company but for our customers. I love the thought of knowing that what we do will bring long-term benefits to our customers.
What is one challenge you encountered throughout your career and how did you overcome it?
This is a common challenge among some leaders. There are people who struggle with delegating tasks and this becomes a problem because admit it or not, we cannot do everything on our own.
To get over this bad habit, you have to learn how to trust people. But more importantly, form a team with whom you believe can deliver the job. On your part, it also helps to be able to engage with the team in order to identify the strengths of each member that will help you match them with the right tasks.
What motivates you?
No matter how hard the journey gets, what keeps me going is the good impact we can make if we continue with what we are doing now at Premier. I am excited to see healthier communities because, with healthy individuals, we can expect more opportunities to improve and make our society better.
What is your most satisfying achievement as an entrepreneur?
I am very proud to say that I led the highest-grossing Seagram product launch campaign in the Carolinas’ history. But still, I would like to express my sincerest gratitude to all the people behind this project because I couldn’t have done it without them.
Handling projects like this is not easy at all. Starting from conceptualization, planning, doing promotions up to the actual event, every part of the process requires a lot of time, effort, and resources. But no matter how tiring it may seem, in the end, seeing things come to a completion and success pays off.
How do you grow your business?
As to promoting awareness about our business and products, we use what’s available now to our advantage. Since we have the internet, we are working on creating content for our online promotion. Aside from that, we also make sure to maximize offline efforts with the help of our friends, partners/vendors, and customers.
How do you define success?
Success is when you can look back and say that all the hard work, tears, and sacrifices are worth it. It is when you can do what you love and celebrate your victories with loved ones and people that you helped along the way.
What do you think makes you successful?
First and foremost, my family who gives me strength is one of the biggest reasons why I am where I stand today. Aside from that, I think it’s my grit because as long as I keep my eyes on the goal and have the best team to work with, I know there are greater things ahead of us.
What traits help a person succeed?
I believe that respect, grit, and willingness to learn are among the most common traits of a successful person. If you show high regard for other people and their opinions, they’d treat you the same way. Because of this, you might even earn friends who will be there to help and support you.
Furthermore, a person who is brave enough to fight for their dreams and keep his eyes on the goal is much more likely to succeed at what he does. And of course, you must be willing to learn and undergo the process because success cannot be achieved overnight.
What advice do you have for aspiring entrepreneurs?
To aspiring entrepreneurs out there, I will not tell you that it’s going to be easy because there will certainly be a lot of challenges along the way. However, always remember why you started and hold on to that because it will be your motivation and will help you identify the direction of your business.
What are your plans for the future?
At Premier, we plan to continuously come up with the most nutritious beverages for consumers. And who knows, maybe in the future, when the time is right and when we are able to gather enough data and resources, we might expand and start producing other health and wellness products.
What piece of advice would you give your younger self?
Only you have the power to write your own story so never let anyone drag you down. As long as you don’t hurt anybody along the way when you get the opportunity to make your dreams come true, give it your best shot.
What is your favorite quote?
One of my favorites is Abraham Lincoln’s reminder which says, “The best way to predict the future is to create it.”