Coca-Cola Bottling Company United Inc., or Coca-Cola UNITED, announced Thursday several executive appointments approved by its board of directors.
The following appointments will take effect August 1, 2026:
- Hafiz Chandiwala—president and chief administrative officer
- Susanne Hall—executive vice president, chief strategy and commercial officer
- Crawford Jones—senior vice president, sales operations and commercial capabilities
- Beeland Nielsen—senior vice president, commercial
“These leadership transitions represent a thoughtful investment in our future and position us for continued success,” Coca-Cola UNITED CEO Mike Suco said. “We are grateful for the knowledge and experience Hafiz, Susanne, Crawford and Beeland will bring to their new roles.”
Chandiwala will continue overseeing the company’s finance, human resources, legal, information technology, aviation and capital investment functions. He will also oversee supply chain operations, expanding his leadership across the company’s administrative and operational areas.
Chandiwala, who will be based in Birmingham and report directly to Suco, joined Coca-Cola UNITED in 2001 as corporate controller. He has since served as chief financial officer and executive vice president and chief administrative officer.
Hall will lead Coca-Cola UNITED’s enterprise strategy and commercial organization. Her responsibilities will include long-term strategic planning, sales, revenue growth management, customer strategy, commercial operations and on-premise sales and operations.
Hall, who will be based in Atlanta and report directly to Suco, joined the company in 2015 as vice president of transition and integration. She has also served as west region vice president and senior vice president and chief commercial officer.
Jones will provide companywide leadership over regional sales operations and commercial capabilities, working across sales, commercial supply chain, finance and Coca-Cola system partners.
Jones, who will be based in Atlanta and report directly to Suco, joined Coca-Cola UNITED in 2007 and currently serves as vice president of the east region.
Nielsen will oversee channel, brand and customer strategy, national retail sales, revenue growth, marketing, category insights, space planning and commercial operations.
Nielsen, who will be based in Birmingham, will report directly to Hall. He joined Coca-Cola UNITED in 2011 and currently serves as vice president of commercial capabilities and chief information officer.
Petra Romano will succeed Nielsen as vice president and chief information officer effective October 1, 2026.
Romano currently serves as chief transformation officer at Coke One North America Services, an Atlanta-based information technology and business services company jointly owned by the largest North American Coca-Cola bottlers, including Coca-Cola UNITED.
In her new role, Romano will oversee information technology strategy, business solutions and sales force automation. She will be based in Birmingham and report directly to Chandiwala.
“We are excited to welcome Petra to our UNITED family,” Suco said. “Her experience and leadership will be an asset as we continue to leverage technology to support our associates and strengthen our operations.”
Coca-Cola UNITED also announced two additional leadership appointments that will take effect January 1, 2027, as part of the company’s succession planning:
- Grant Rafield—senior vice president and chief supply chain officer
- Larry Pritchett—vice president, manufacturing operations and asset lifecycle
Rafield will succeed Mike Lurker, who will retire at the end of 2026. Rafield will oversee warehousing, logistics, manufacturing, product fulfillment, engineering and quality assurance.
Rafield, who will be based in Birmingham and report directly to Chandiwala, joined Coca-Cola UNITED in 2015 and currently serves as vice president of manufacturing operations. He will begin transitioning into the new role in August.
Pritchett will succeed Rafield as vice president of manufacturing operations and asset lifecycle. He will oversee manufacturing, quality and systems compliance, engineering, fleet and facilities.
Pritchett, who will be based in Birmingham, will report directly to Rafield. He joined Coca-Cola UNITED in 2009 and currently serves as corporate senior director of asset lifecycle and reliability. He will begin transitioning into the new role in August.
“Grant and Larry understand our business, our people and our commitment to operational excellence,” Suco said. “They will build on Mike’s outstanding leadership and help us continue delivering the high-quality products and service our customers and consumers expect.”
Coca-Cola UNITED is headquartered in Birmingham and is the second-largest privately held company in Alabama. It is also one of the largest Coca-Cola bottlers in the United States, with more than 10,000 employees across the Southeast and annual revenue of more than $4 billion.
