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Breakthru Beverage appoints CFO ahead of company merger

Republic National Distributing Company (RNDC) and Breakthru Beverage Group have appointed a new executive vice president and chief financial officer for when the companies merge.

Nick Mehall will be executive vice president and CFO when Breakthru Beverage and RNDC merge

Nicholas Mehall will take up the position and report directly to current RNDC president and CEO Tom Cole, who has been named as chief executive officer of the new combined company.

Mehall will be responsible for leading the firm’s financial performance, planning and reporting, funding, and risk management, as well as numerous other strategic initiatives to drive the firm’s distribution.

He joined RNDC in 2017 as chief financial officer after five years with Diageo North America, where he held several progressive leadership roles in the controllership and commercial finance functions.

Before that, Mehall spent 10 years with KPMG in Cleveland, London and New York, working in several key leadership roles in the audit practice.

“[Mehall’s] industry knowledge, financial acumen and proven track record of success make him the ideal selection for this role,” said RNDC president and CEO Tom Cole.

“His innovative and results-oriented mindset will help drive continued growth for the combined company of RNDC and Breakthru.”

In addition, Breakthru Beverage Group CFO Gene Luciano will work in a ‘key integration role’ within the new combined company to help the transition go smoothly.

Greg Baird, current Breakthru Beverage president and CEO, who will work as chief integration officer after the RNDC-BBG merger is complete, said: “I am also extremely pleased that Gene will be working alongside us during the critical integration period of our new company.

“Gene is an industry legend, and his knowledge and experience will continue to be invaluable.”

RNDC and Breakthru announced their intentions to merge and create a US$12 billion company in November 2017. The deal, which is subject to regulatory approval, is expected to be completed in the second calendar quarter of 2018.

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