Keurig Dr Pepper Inc. hired a new executive to lead its finances after it promoted its former chief financial officer to the role of chief executive. The move comes as the beverage maker continues to battle high inflation.
Sudhanshu Priyadarshi, the CFO of ammunition and sporting goods company Vista Outdoor Inc., is set to take over his new role on Nov. 14, Burlington, Mass.-based Keurig Dr Pepper said Monday. He has served as CFO at Anoka, Minn.-based Vista Outdoor since April 2020, and before that was CFO for one year at Flexport Inc., a digital-focused freight forwarder. Mr. Priyadarshi also previously held senior-level finance roles at Walmart Inc.
In his new role, Mr. Priyadarshi will oversee Keurig Dr Pepper’s finance and information technology divisions. He will succeed Ozan Dokmecioglu, who was elevated earlier this year to chief executive.
Keurig Dr Pepper, in addition to its namesake brands, owns soft drinks including 7Up and Canada Dry, as well as coffee brands such as Green Mountain Coffee Roasters. Net sales during the most recent quarter climbed 13%, to $3.55 billion, boosted in part to higher prices. The company earned $218 million, compared with $448 million a year earlier, as it contended with higher warehousing and transportation costs.
Keurig Dr Pepper is scheduled to report quarterly results on Thursday. During its most recent earnings call in July, Mr. Dokmecioglu said the company is ready to impose additional price increases.
A key challenge facing Mr. Priyadarshi will be figuring out how to continue boosting prices without affecting sales volumes, said Gerald Pascarelli, a senior vice president of equity research at the investment firm Wedbush Securities Inc. Keurig Dr Pepper, which has raised prices by double digits this year in areas such as packaged beverages and concentrates, is expected to continue hiking prices through the remainder of 2022, Mr. Pascarelli said. Pricing could moderate in 2023, he said.
“Double-digit pricing [increases] can’t last forever,” Mr. Pascarelli said.
Mr. Priyadarshi will also be tasked with determining how to spend the company’s strong cash flows, said Robert Ottenstein, an analyst at the investment firm Evercore Inc. Cash flow from operating activities for the first six months of 2022 totaled $1.34 billion, up 18% from the prior-year period.
Keurig Dr Pepper has said that acquisitions are a top priority for capital allocation. The company in June said it would acquire the rights to Atypique, a nonalcoholic cocktail brand in Canada. The financial terms of the transaction weren’t disclosed.
The company in a regulatory filing said Mr. Priyadarshi will receive an annual base salary of $850,000 and be eligible for an annual bonus with a target of 80% of his base pay. He will also be entitled to a long-term equity award with a target value of $2.2 million. In addition, Mr. Priyadarshi received a one-time stock grant of $3 million, as well as a $3.85 million cash sign-on bonus to make good for the incentive compensation he left behind at Vista Outdoor.
“Sudhanshu’s impressive financial management experience at leading companies, combined with his strategic and operational savvy, makes him the ideal executive for this critical role,” Mr. Dokmecioglu said in a press release. Keurig Dr Pepper Monday said Mr. Priyadarshi wasn’t available for an interview and declined to comment beyond its release.
Vista Outdoor said it launched a formal search for a successor to Mr. Priyadarshi. Andrew Keegan, Vista Outdoor’s vice president of finance and treasury, will serve as interim finance chief after Mr. Priyadarshi departs. Mr. Priyadarshi will continue to fulfill his CFO duties until then, including the release of the company’s fiscal second-quarter results, scheduled for Nov. 3.
Write to Kristin Broughton at Kristin.Broughton@wsj.com and Colin Kellaher at colin.kellaher@wsj.com
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