Keurig Dr Pepper Evolves Its C‑Suite to Support Growth Plan

"We've been intentional about building a deep bench of talent, and we are fortunate to have leaders who are seasoned, forward-thinking and ready to step into these critical roles," CEO Tim Cofer said of the three C-suite moves.

Keurig Dr Pepper, based in Frisco and Burlington, Massachusetts, announced several leadership appointments to continue to drive the company’s growth strategy.

“KDP is evolving our leadership structure to drive the next phase of our growth,” CEO Tim Cofer said in a statement. “We’ve been intentional about building a deep bench of talent, and we are fortunate to have leaders who are seasoned, forward-thinking and ready to step into these critical roles.”

The company announced the following executive leadership changes, effective immediately:

Eric Gorli, president, U.S. Refreshment Beverages, will oversee KDP’s $9 billion liquid refreshment business that includes the carbonated soft drinks, still beverages, and energy portfolios in the U.S. Gorli has nearly 30 years of experience in the beverage industry, including nearly two decades in roles within The Coca-Cola Co.’s system across both bottling operations and Coca-Cola North America. Since joining KDP in 2015, Gorli has been a key leader in commercialization efforts across the enterprise, developing KDP’s pricing, promotional and growth strategies, and serving most recently as chief commercial officer.

Sean Cronican is now chief customer officer. With almost 30 years of sales experience, Cronican will lead KDP’s customer-facing teams for all of its customer partnerships in the U.S., including grocery, mass, club, small format, fountain foodservice and e-commerce. Cronican joined KDP in 2016 and has held roles across sales and commercial leadership and has built and deepened many of KDP’s critical customer relationships, the company said. Before KDP, Cronican spent nearly 20 years with Abbott Nutrition.

Drew Panayiotou, now chief marketing officer, joined KDP in November. He expands his responsibilities to include Marketing for both U.S. Refreshment Beverages and U.S. Coffee, along with enterprise Marketing Services. With nearly three decades of sales, marketing, and general management experience, Panayiotou is accelerating a digital-first marketing approach at KDP, the company said.

Those three leaders join existing executive leadership team members in reporting directly to Cofer.

KDP said the roles of the following executive leadership team members remain unchanged:

  • Mary Beth DeNooyer, Chief Human Resources Officer
  • Roger Johnson, Chief Supply Chain Officer
  • Patrick Minogue, President, U.S. Coffee
  • Monique Oxender, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer
  • Sudhanshu Priyadarshi, Chief Financial Officer and President, International
  • Dr. Karin Rotem-Wildeman, Chief Research & Development Officer
  • Anthony Shoemaker, Chief Legal Officer & General Counsel 
 

Boosting energy segment

The company also said it is taking steps to seize the growth opportunity in the energy category.

Via a series of brand and infrastructure investments over the last several years, KDP has significantly increased its category market share, and its energy portfolio now generates more than $1 billion in retail sales, the company said. KDP said to realize the substantial growth ahead, Justin Whitmore is appointed to the newly created role of president, KDP Energy, overseeing KDP’s energy brand portfolio, including marketing, sales, operations and integration, reporting to Gorli.

Andrew Archambault, currently president of U.S. Refreshment Beverages, will depart KDP on January 31 for an opportunity outside the company, KDP said. He helped build KDP’s commercial strategy in the years following the merger and held a number of critical leadership roles during his seven years with the company.

Keurig Dr Pepper has a portfolio of more than 125 owned, licensed, and partner brands and powerful distribution capabilities to provide a beverage for every need, anytime, anywhere. With annual revenue of approximately $15 billion, KDP holds leadership positions in beverage categories including soft drinks, coffee, tea, water, juice, and mixers, and have the No. 1 single serve coffee brewing system in the U.S. and Canada.

Its brands include Keurig, Dr Pepper, Canada Dry, Mott’s, A&W, Snapple, Peñafiel, 7UP, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Clamato, Core Hydration, and The Original Donut Shop.


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