Keurig Dr Pepper Hires Drew Panayiotou as CMO of U.S. Refreshment Beverages
Keurig Dr Pepper has named Drew Panayiotou the chief marketing officer for its U.S. refreshment beverages business.
In the role, he will lead marketing for KDP’s cold beverage brands, which include Dr Pepper, Canada Dry, Mott’s, A&W, Snapple, 7UP, and Core Hydration. Additionally, he will manage all functions — including insights and analytics, media and PR, marketing innovation, creative services, and category management — within the company’s marketing centers of excellence.
Panayiotou will also collaborate with marketing leaders from KDP’s U.S. coffee business and Canada and Mexico operations to drive innovative brand-building across the organization.
Also read: Keurig Dr Pepper Expands Energy Drink Portfolio With Ghost Acquisition
Past Experience
Panayiotou was hired for his modern approach to marketing and broad experience across beverages, technology, health care, retail, and entertainment.
He joins KDP from Pfizer, where he had oversight of marketing across the enterprise as global chief marketing officer. In that role, he helped lead the launch of AI-powered content and media and elevated e-commerce engagement by developing a new direct-to-consumer model.
Prior to Pfizer, Panayiotou served as CMO of Verily/Google Life Sciences and, before that, president and CEO BBDO-ATL and president of Red Wagon Ventures — a Chick-fil-A-owned business incubator.
Panayiotou also held senior marketing leadership roles at Best Buy, the Walt Disney Company, and The Coca-Cola Company, and served as a brand manager for Canada Dry.
“I look forward to accelerating our digital marketing transformation while creating meaningful connections with consumers in new media spaces," said Panayiotou.
Also read: Keurig Dr Pepper Is Expanding DSD Operations With This Acquisition
Leadership Shuffle at KDP
Panayiotou takes on the role previously occupied by Andrew Springate, who has nearly 30 years of experience in sales, marketing, and general management and will be shifting to new priorities leading industry and strategic initiatives, according to the company. Springate will report directly to CEO Tim Cofer.
"As consumer-obsessed brand builders, KDP is embracing new ideas and cutting-edge technologies to connect and resonate with today's audiences, and Drew will take this work to new heights," said Andrew Archambault, president, U.S. refreshment beverages at KDP, who oversees the role.
