Dive Brief:
- Keurig Dr. Pepper, Inc. appointed Sudhanshu Priyadarshi, 45, as CFO effective Nov. 14, the company announced Monday.
- The appointment comes after the announcement in April that the company’s former finance chief, Ozan Dokmecioglu, was promoted from CFO to CEO, effective July 29, according to a company statement. The company plans to report third quarter earnings on Thursday.
- Based in Burlington, Mass., the company planned as of July to push ahead with price increases in order to blunt the harm from inflation, Dokmecioglu said on July 28 during a second quarter earnings call. “We are largely covered on input costs and have good line of sight to price realization," he said. "Quarter three is expected to look much like quarter two — the primary driver of the phasing of our second-half results is the timing relationship between pricing and inflation."
Dive Insight:
Before taking the finance helm of the beverage maker, Priyadarshi served as CFO of ammunition and sports goods company Vista Outdoor Inc. beginning in 2020. Before Vista, Priyadarshi held another finance chief position at Flexport — a global supply chain logistics company. Priyadarshi also held various positions at Walmart focused on finance and strategy, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Priyadarshi is set to receive an annual base salary of $850,000 and will be eligible to receive an annual bonus at a target level of 80% of his base salary, according to an SEC filing.
Like other food and beverage companies battling inflation, Keurig Dr. Pepper has used price hikes to blunt the higher cost of goods needed for production. Despite its efforts, the company saw a decrease in income in Q2 of 22.1% to $572 million, compared with $734 million in the prior-year period, according to a company release.
As announced in the company’s succession plan in April, former CEO Bob Gamgort transitioned to the role of executive chairman after Dokmecioglu’s promotion took effect in July.
The company did not respond to requests for comment.
