TORONTO — Maurizio Patarnello has been named chief executive officer at Flow Water Inc.

He joins the premium spring water company from Nestle, where he spent nearly 27 years leading the company’s water brands and international business. He was CEO and chairman of Nestle Waters from 2017 to 2019. Before that, he was CEO of Nestle Russia and Eurasia and CEO of Nestle Ukraine and Moldova. He also was chief operating officer of Nestle Waters’ Middle East, Africa and Central Asia business and CEO and chairman of Nestle Waters’ Middle East, Africa, Central Europe and Asia business.

In his new role, Mr. Patarnello will be tasked with scaling Flow Waters to meet its goal of becoming one of North America’s premier sustainable mineral spring water and wellness beverage companies. The company currently offers a line of original spring waters, flavored spring waters and collagen-infused waters.

He succeeds Nicholas Reichenbach, founder and former CEO of Flow Water, who will take on a new role as the company’s executive chairman.

“Flow has tapped directly into the modern consumer’s desire for high quality sustainable water and functional beverage products and is poised to be a market leader in the space,” Mr. Patarnello said. “Accelerating Flow’s growth will be our main goal in the coming years.”

Mr. Patarnello will work with Mr. Reichenbach to prepare for Flow’s IPO later this year. The company in February announced it will go public on the Toronto Stock Exchange this spring through a blank-check company.

“Just weeks after we announced our intent to take Flow public, it is incredibly energizing to have someone of Maurizio’s stature and expertise join the Flow family, and his leadership will help us accelerate our growth, hone our strategy and execution, and scale our business in North America,” Mr. Reichenbach said. “His experience in the premium bottled water space and his business acumen will be invaluable as we build Flow together into a leading North American mineral spring water and beverage brand.”