Keurig Dr Pepper (KDP) announced today the appointment of Sudhanshu Priyadarshi as its new chief financial officer, effective Nov. 14.
In his new role, Priyadarshi will be tasked with leading KDP’s finance and information technology teams as the company “deliver[s] against [its] commitments, scales [its] business for growth and continue[s] to successfully navigate the complex macro environment,” said CEO Ozan Dokmecioglu in a press release.
Priyadarshi brings broad experience in CPG: he started his career at PepsiCo, where he spent 14 years in financial and corporate strategy roles, including as CFO of Global R & D and PepsiCo Global Nutrition Platforms.
He takes over the title of chief financial officer from Dokmecioglu, who transitioned to CEO in July. Prior to Pryiadarshi’s appointment, George Lagoudakis served as interim CFO to “ensure full full coverage during the transition.”
“Sudhanshu’s impressive financial management experience at leading companies, combined with his strategic and operation savvy, makes him the ideal executive for this critical role,” said Dokmecioglu in the release.
Priyadarshi’s appointment comes on the heels of KDP’s recent recalibration of its supply chain management strategy. Earlier this month, the company announced the promotion of Roger Johnson as its new chief supply chain officer.
Johnson has been charged with executing a “realignment of the [KDP’s] supply chain structure, designed to strengthen focus, speed and accountability at the business unit level, while accelerating productivity across the enterprise,” the company said in a press release. Johnson will be joined by Christopher Martin, who was promoted to SVP, Coffee Supply Chain and Paul DaRosa, who was promoted to SVP, Cold Beverages Supply Chain.
During its second quarter earnings report in July, the company reported it had stabilized its coffee pod supply chain and raised its full-year guidance to low-double digits following encouraging growth across all business divisions. The company indicated that pod volumes (+4.2% in Q1 2022) are positioned to continue to grow in the second half of the year, during which new brewer innovations are slated to be introduced.
In anticipation of his new role, Priyadarshi said, “I look forward to working closely with Ozan and the entire executive team to continue driving organic growth while pursuing opportunities to deliver above-plan value creation through strategic allocation of KDP’s industry-leading free cash flow generation.”