Liquid Death names former PepsiCo, Keurig Dr Pepper exec as CFO

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Dive Brief:

• Liquid Death named beverage industry executive Karim Sadik-Khan as its CFO, the company said in a statement.
• Sadik-Khan brings 19 years of management and finance experience at public and private beverage companies. He was most recently CFO for spirits giant Beam Suntory North America. He’s also held finance roles at PepsiCo, Dr Pepper Snapple — now Keurig Dr Pepper — and IBM. 
• Liquid Death, known for its tagline of “Murder your thirst,” reportedly hired Goldman Sachs last summer to help it with an IPO later this year. In 2023, Liquid Death hit $263 million in retail scanned sales through registers and was the fastest-growing top water and iced tea brand, according to SPINS data cited by the company.

Dive Insight:

While Liquid Death has been quiet about going public, the beverage startup has been active in positioning its business for the future by strengthening its corporate bench and expanding its product line beyond canned water. Liquid Death now sells products such as sparkling water, iced tea, and earlier this year, an electrolyte drink mix called Death Dust.

A key facet of its C-suite expansion is that the new executives have prior experience with other beverage companies. At Beam Suntory North America, Sadik-Khan was responsible for all finance functions including financial planning and analysis, mergers and acquisitions, accounting and revenue management for the global company’s largest and most profitable business unit with $2.5 billion in revenue. Liquid Death also appointed former White Claw executive Stephen Ballard as its first chief commercial officer last October. He previously was senior vice president of sales at White Claw maker Mike’s Hard Lemonade. 

“We are thrilled to bring on Karim, an experienced financial leader in the beverage world, as we execute on further growth and expansion strategies,” said Mike Cessario, Founder & CEO of Liquid Death. “We are scaling a high growth company with a foundation of strong fundamentals and solid financials, and Karim will be integral to that work.”