The largest U.S. Coca-Cola bottler announced the retirement of its chief financial officer and his successor. Scott Anthony will retire effective March 31. He joined Charlotte-based Coca-Cola Consolidated in December 2018 as CFO and executive vice president. Coca-Cola Consolidated will used Anthony as a consultant after his retirement to assist with the transition of his responsibilities.
Matthew J. Blickley will assume the role of executive vice president and CFO effective April 1. Blickey joined Coca‑Cola Consolidated in 2014 as a corporate controller and has been a senior vice president, financial planning and chief accounting officer since August 2020. Blickley will continue to serve as the company’s chief accounting officer following this change.
Blickley has a bachelor’s degree from Virginia Tech and an MBA from UNC Chapel Hill. He is a certified public accountant and began his career with PricewaterhouseCoopers. Blickley will serve on the company’s executive leadership team and will report to Dave Katz, president and chief operating officer.
“We are grateful for Scott’s significant contributions over the past six years,” said J. Frank Harrison III, chairman and CEO. “Scott’s deep experience within the Coca-Cola system and strategic leadership were instrumental in our ability to deliver the exceptional financial performance and strong stockholder returns we’ve achieved since 2019. His work in developing talent, evolving our financial systems and his partnership with our business leaders has been invaluable. I want to thank Scott for his commitment to the succession planning process, and we appreciate Scott staying engaged with the company in a consultancy role following his retirement.”
“I am very pleased to have Matt Blickley succeed Scott as CFO, reflecting our depth of talent and careful succession planning,” says Katz in a release. “I’ve worked closely with Matt over the past decade, and I am confident he is the right leader to take on this important role and continue to deliver on our purpose, culture and financial success.”
Coca-Cola Consolidated makes, sells and distributes beverages of The Coca‑Cola Company and other partner companies in more than 300 brands and flavors across 14 states and the District of Columbia, to approximately 60 million consumers. The company employs about 17,000 workers.
The company’s stock price is up almost 41% in the past year and shares trade for around $1,287. It has a market capitalization of about $11.3 billion.