Dr Pepper Snapple Group

Leadership Team

show all hide all

Larry D. Young

President, Chief Executive Officer and Director

Larry Young is president and chief executive officer for Dr Pepper Snapple Group, Inc. (NYSE: DPS), one of the world's leading beverage companies.

Larry was named president and chief executive officer in October 2007 after serving as president and chief operating officer for the company's Bottling Group division and led the spinoff of Dr Pepper Snapple Group from Cadbury Schweppes plc in May 2008.

Larry joined the company in April 2006 through its full acquisition of Dr Pepper/Seven Up Bottling Group, where he had been president and CEO since 2005. As head of operations, he played a central role in helping to create a new business model for a fully integrated beverage company.

By integrating the Bottling Group and several other independent bottling businesses into DPS, the company now has a more reliable, sustainable and secure route to market. This has allowed the company to protect its brand equity and improve customer relations through better control of its products from innovation to the store shelf. As a result, DPS can more effectively deliver those brands, with direct access to more than 230 million consumers in 34 states.

In his 30-year career, Larry has produced and sold virtually every type of beverage in the Americas and across Europe and Russia. He previously served more than 25 years in the Pepsi system, most recently with PepsiAmericas and before that with Pepsi-Cola General Bottlers, where he began on a route truck and worked his way to President and Chief Operating Officer.

In 2008, Larry was appointed chairman of the board of the American Beverage Association and inducted into the Beverage World Soft Drink Hall of Fame. He and his wife, Colette, live in Dallas and are both natives of Springfield, Mo.

John O. Stewart

Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Director

John Stewart is executive vice president and chief financial officer for Dr Pepper Snapple Group, Inc. (NYSE: DPS). He is responsible for all Finance and Accounting functions at the company, as well as Information Technology and Customer Solutions.

John joined the company in November 2006 and played a leading role in the planning and execution of the company's successful spinoff from Cadbury Schweppes plc and listing on the New York Stock Exchange, which was completed in May 2008. He brought an extensive food & beverage industry background to DPS, including 15 years with U.K. multinational Diageo (and predecessor company Grand Metropolitan), where he rose to become senior vice president and CFO for Diageo North America. Over a four-year period there, he oversaw a revenue increase of 50 percent and profit growth of 80 percent through a combination of strategic acquisitions, notably the $8 billion acquisition of Seagram Wines and Spirits, strong organic growth and significant business restructuring.

Prior to becoming North American CFO in 2001, John served in numerous financial leadership roles throughout Diageo's global food & beverage operations. John headed strategy and business development for Pillsbury, a position that culminated in John leading the $10.5 billion sale of Pillsbury to General Mills in 2001. He also was CFO for the United Distillers & Vintners international region, CFO for International Distillers and Vintners Asia Pacific region, was managing director for Pillsbury Australia, served as director of marketing finance for Pillsbury's refrigerated baked goods division and was operations controller for Pillsbury and Green Giant.

John's move to Grand Met in 1990 followed two years with RJR Nabisco, where he was a corporate audit staff manager with responsibilities for the company's biscuit, tobacco and Del Monte businesses in Latin America. His earlier experience includes corporate auditing roles with General Electric and its subsidiary, the RCA Corporation. He began his career in the U.K. with accounting firm Grant Thornton in 1979.

A native of Glasgow, Scotland, John received his undergraduate degree from the University of Glasgow. He is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland.

James L. Baldwin, Jr.

Executive Vice President and General Counsel

James "Jim" Baldwin is executive vice president and general counsel for Dr Pepper Snapple Group, Inc. (NYSE: DPS). In this role, Jim oversees all legal issues for the company.

Jim has played a key strategic role in the company's major acquisitions and restructurings. He was involved in the establishment of DPS in 2008 when the company separated from Cadbury Schweppes plc. Previously, he played a central role in consolidating Cadbury Schweppes' North American beverage operations into Cadbury Schweppes Americas Beverages, as well as the subsequent acquisition of Dr Pepper/Seven-Up Bottling Group and several other bottling and distribution businesses. He also helped lead the acquisition of several of DPS's leading brands.

Jim joined the company in 1997 as assistant general counsel, where he provided support to the Licensing team on strengthening the company's bottling network and route to market. The following year, he was promoted to general counsel for Mott's in Stamford, Conn., where he oversaw the legal aspects of the finished goods business. In June 2002, he relocated to Dallas to head up the legal department at Dr Pepper/Seven Up as senior vice president and general counsel. He was promoted to his current role a year later.

Prior to DPS and Cadbury Schweppes, Jim was a partner in the Dallas office of the Houston-based law firm of Hutcheson & Grundy, for nearly ten years. He began his law career with the firm of Berman, Mitchell, Yeager and Gerber.

Jim graduated Cum Laude with a bachelor's degree in English from Washington & Lee University and earned his Juris Doctorate from Southern Methodist University. He lives in Dallas with his wife, Susan, and their daughters, Sarah and Marie.

Tina S. Barry

Senior Vice President, Corporate Affairs

Tina Barry is senior vice president, corporate affairs, for Dr Pepper Snapple Group, Inc. In this role, she has overall responsibility for all aspects of internal and external communications, public relations, government affairs and corporate social responsibility.

Tina has extensive communications and public relations experience and has developed and overseen strategic corporate communications initiatives for public companies throughout her career. Her corporate experience spans financial reporting, mergers and acquisitions, environmental and other regulatory issues, employee and executive communications, and global media relations.

Prior to joining DPS in May 2008, she was vice president of communications for Kimberly-Clark Corporation, where she led communications and investor relations strategies, positioning the company as a global health and hygiene leader. She joined Kimberly-Clark in 1985 as director of corporate communications, and held numerous leadership roles during her more than 20 years with the company.

Before Kimberly-Clark, she was manager-financial communications and media relations for Holiday Inns, Inc.

She serves on the Boards of the Dallas Theater Center and the Dallas Opera. She also is a member of the Theater Center's Executive Committee.

Tina is a graduate of The University of Mississippi where she received a B.A. in English and Journalism.

She lives in Dallas, Texas, with her husband, John, and their two children, Sam and Susan.

Rodger L. Collins

President — Bottling Group & Finished Goods Sales

Rodger Collins is president of bottling group and finished goods sales for Dr Pepper Snapple Group, Inc. (NYSE: DPS). In this role, he leads a coast-to-coast sales force and fleet responsible for direct-to-store delivery (DSD) and warehouse distribution.

Rodger joined the company in 2006 through its acquisition of Dr Pepper/Seven-Up Bottling Group. He has been with the Bottling Group and its predecessor companies for more than 30 years. Prior to assuming his current role in 2007, he served as Midwest division president beginning in 2005, based in Chicago.

Previously, Rodger held region vice president or division vice president roles from 1991 to 2005 in company locations in Columbus, Ohio, Holland, Mich., and Cleveland. Earlier, he held numerous management positions in sales and marketing, based in Cleveland, Youngstown and Akron, Ohio.

Rodger joined the company in 1978 in route sales. He and his wife, Renee, have twin sons in college and live in Frisco, Texas.

Pedro Herrán Gacha

Executive Vice President — Corporate Strategy; President — Mexico and the Caribbean

Pedro Herran is executive vice president of corporate strategy for Dr Pepper Snapple Group and president of the company's Mexico and Caribbean business.

Under Pedro's leadership, DPS revenues in Mexico and the Caribbean have delivered top-line growth through the strategic development of brands such as Peñafiel, Aguafiel and Clamato. The success of DPS' full-system beverage operations in Mexico also served as a model for the company's strategy to secure its U.S. route-to-market, which led to the acquisition and integration of Dr Pepper/Seven-Up Bottling Group in 2006, several subsequent bottler acquisitions and the ongoing consolidation of the independent bottling system.

Pedro joined the company in 1997 as SVP of finance, information technology and strategic development in Latin America. Two years later, he was promoted to president of the Mexico beverages division, a position that has evolved into his current role. He assumed responsibility for corporate strategy in 2008. Prior to joining DPS, Pedro was with the Sara Lee Corporation, where he was responsible for financial and IT management of the textiles sales organization in Latin America.

Pedro holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in accounting from Arizona State University and a Masters of Business Administration in strategy and finance from Duke University's Fuqua School of Business. He lives in Fairview, Texas, with his wife and their three children.

Derry L. Hobson

Executive Vice President — Supply Chain

Derry Hobson serves as executive vice president of supply chain for Dr Pepper Snapple Group, Inc. (NYSE: DPS). In this role, he is responsible for all supply chain functions, including logistics & distribution; manufacturing; quality, environment, health & safety (QEHS); concentrate manufacturing; supply chain planning; packaging & engineering; corporate facilities; and non-franchise sales across North America, Canada and the Caribbean.

Derry brings more than 30 years of manufacturing and operations experience DPS. He assumed his current role in October 2007 after serving as senior vice president of manufacturing. He joined the company in 2006 through its acquisition of Dr Pepper/Seven-Up Bottling Group, where he had served as executive vice president of supply chain since 1999.

Prior to the Bottling Group, from 1993 to 1999, he was president and CEO of Sequoia Pacific Systems, Visalia, Calif., a leading developer and seller of election systems used by jurisdictions around the world. Previously, he was senior vice president of operations with Nestle USA (Perrier Group), Greenwich, Conn., from 1988-1992; vice president of operations for Coca-Cola Enterprises, Atlanta, from 1987-1988. Earlier, he managed manufacturing for the Southern region of Pepsi-Cola Bottling Group. He began his manufacturing career in 1974 with Kellogg.

Derry holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Ball State University. He and his wife, Brenda, have four children and live in Flower Mound, Texas.

James J. Johnston, Jr.

President — Concentrate Sales

James "Jim" Johnston is president of concentrate sales for Dr Pepper Snapple Group, Inc. In this role, he leads a national sales organization that includes route-to-market, retail, fountain foodservice and customer development teams in the U.S. and Canada.

Jim was named to his current position in late 2007 after serving as executive vice president of sales since 2005. During his previous 13 years with the company, he held numerous leadership positions in sales, strategy, licensing and franchise. He first joined the company in November 1992 as manager of marketing services, progressing through the business as division marketing manager and VP of field marketing before holding senior vice president positions over system marketing, franchise and licensing and strategy. Earlier in his career, Jim was director-client services with Information Resources, Inc. in Darien, Connecticut. Previously, he held a number of positions of increasing responsibility in both sales and marketing during 12 years with New York 7UP Bottling Company and its predecessor, Joyce Beverages, Inc.

A native of Larchmont, N.Y., Jim earned his bachelor's degree in history from Providence College. He and his wife, Kathy, live in McKinney, Texas, and have three daughters – Lauren, Katie, and Meghan.

Lawrence N. Solomon

Executive Vice President — Human Resources

Larry Solomon serves as executive vice president of human resources for Dr Pepper Snapple Group (NYSE:DPS).

Since assuming this position in 2003, Larry has played a leading role in the company's evolution into an independent, fully integrated beverage business. This includes the consolidation of four separate beverage companies, the acquisition and integration of Dr Pepper/Seven-Up Bottling Group and other major independent bottling and distributing businesses and the establishment of DPS when it spun off from Cadbury Schweppes plc in 2008. Larry's service to DPS and Cadbury has spanned more than 20 years and three continents. He moved to the U.S. in 1999 to become senior vice president of HR for Dr Pepper/Seven Up Inc. after serving for three years on Cadbury's Global HR leadership team in London as director of organizational development.

He joined the company in 1985 in his native country of South Africa, serving on the board of management as director of human resources for a wholly owned subsidiary. He was then promoted to sales director, leading a large sales force in serving national retail and foodservice accounts for Cadbury Schweppes' beverage business in South Africa before moving internationally with the company.

Larry received a training and development diploma through the Institute of Personnel Management in South Africa and holds an M.B.A. from the University of Texas at Dallas. He and his wife, Charmaine, have four children, Tascha, Tyron, Donovan and Kyle, and live in Plano, Texas.

David J. Thomas, Ph.D.

Senior Vice President — Research & Development

Dr. David Thomas joined Dr Pepper Snapple Group, Inc., as senior vice president, research & development in 2006. In this role, he has overall responsibility for all aspects of R&D, including Product Development, Regulatory, Nutrition, Sensory & Consumer Guidance, Applied Sciences (analytical chemistry and microbiology), Functional Ingredient Technology, Process Development Engineering and Knowledge Management.

David has extensive R&D experience in the food and beverage business and has led the development and launch of numerous consumer products, ranging across nearly every category. Prior to joining DPS, he served as vice president, research & development for the Gerber Products Company, where he led innovation efforts across the U.S., Mexico, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Previously, he served in numerous product and technology development positions at General Mills, Pillsbury and Unilever/National Starch & Chemical, progressing from project leader roles to various senior director-level positions.

David holds 15 patents across a range of ingredient, product and process-related technologies. He is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison where he holds a B.S. in Microbiology, and M.S. and Ph.D. Degrees in Food Science, with an emphasis in Flavor Biochemistry. His Ph.D. program (1988-1992) was tied closely with research being done at McCormick & Co., Inc.

He lives in Frisco, Texas, with his wife, Cheryl, and their two daughters, Alaina and Lindsey.

James R. Trebilcock

Executive Vice President — Marketing

James "Jim" Trebilcock is the executive vice president of marketing for Dr Pepper Snapple Group. In this role, he leads and oversees all areas of commercial brand management and marketing, including market research, graphics, merchandising, consumer and shopper insights, brand activation, advertising and sales promotion.

Jim was named EVP of marketing in 2008 after holding numerous leadership positions in brand management, promotions, marketing research and marketing services during his two decades with the company.

He first joined DPS in July 1987 as Cherry 7 UP brand manager, progressing through the company as director of promotions, vice president of marketing and senior vice president of marketing services. In 2003, Jim was named senior vice president-consumer marketing and was responsible for all consumer marketing, strategic alliances, merchandising and consumer insights for the entire portfolio of brands. He held this position until being promoted into his current role.

Before joining DPS, he held several regional sales and marketing positions with the Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Consolidated. Prior to that, he began his marketing career with General Mills Inc., working in the Big G Cereal Division.

Jim is a graduate of Michigan State University where he holds a B.A. and an M.B.A. in marketing. He lives in Frisco, Texas, with his wife, Janet, and their two sons, Scott and Zachary.