Tampa-based Coca-Cola bottler president to retire

Tampa-based Coca-Cola Beverages Florida, known as Coke Florida, has announced some upcoming leadership changes at the C-suite level. 

At the end of the year, President and COO Thomas Benford will transition out of the company into an advisory role to Troy Taylor, chairman and CEO of the company. 

Benford has been with the company since its founding in 2015, originally as vice president of strategy and planning. Prior to his time at Coke Florida, he worked for Halliburton and J.P. Morgan.

“I have known and worked with Thomas for nearly 25 years, and he has made invaluable contributions to Coke Florida. I thank him for his friendship and service, and, on behalf of the company, I wish him all the best in his future endeavors,” Taylor says in a released statement.

Another leadership change in the pipeline is Andy Hill, who has been serving as chief customer officer since joining the company in November, is taking on an expanded role as chief customer and commercial officer effective immediately.

Coke Florida markets, sells, manufactures, distributes, and merchandises Coca-Cola products for the entire state of Florida, which encompasses 21 million consumers across 47 counties. According to its website, it is the third largest privately held and the sixth-largest bottler of Coca-Cola products in the United States. The company distributes 119 million cases of product across the state.