US soda business Reed’s has appointed former PepsiCo executive Cyril Wallace as its new CEO.
Wallace succeeds Norman Snyder, Jr., who has been the CEO at Reed’s for five years and is stepping down to retire.
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In a statement, Reed’s said Wallace had spent more than 20 years at PepsiCo, most recently at VP and general manager level.
According to Wallace’s LinkedIn profile, he spent the last three years working within PepsiCo’s beverage business in North America.
Shufen Deng, chairperson of Reed’s board, said Wallace’s “strategic vision and operational expertise will be instrumental as we expand distribution, launch new products and drive profitability”.
In addition, Reed’s has added Diageo executive Ruud Bakker to its board. Bakker, who has also worked for Red Bull and Heineken, is VP for marketing and innovation on Diageo’s Smirnoff brand.
Bakker is also the founder of incubator Purple Fox Studios, which works with entrepreneurs and companies to launch and scale brands.
In February, Reed’s named Douglas McCurdy as CFO and Salvatore Vassallo as vice president of operations.
Founded in 1989, Reed’s produces beverages under the Reed’s, Virgil’s and Flying Cauldron brands.
Its products are available in more than 45,000 US retail locations.
In 2024, Reed’s experienced a 14.9% decrease in net sales to $38m. The company booked a loss from operations of $7.4m, versus one of $9.4m in 2023. Reed’s booked a net loss of $12.4m, against 15.5m a year earlier.
Commenting on the results last month, outgoing CEO Snyder, Jr. said: “We are encouraged by the meaningful progress we made in 2024 as we implemented significant steps to strengthen our balance sheet, streamline operations, and drive efficiencies.”
In the fourth quarter, the company secured $10m through a private placement.
That followed the completion of a convertible debt restructuring earlier in the tear and the issuance of a new demand note, providing what Snyder, Jr. described as “the necessary capital to invest in inventory, personnel, marketing, strategic partnerships, and international expansion – all of which we believe will position Reed’s for accelerated growth and profitability”.
