Keurig Dr Pepper CEO pushed out after 3 months over personal conduct ‘violations’

Keurig Dr Pepper CEO Ozan Dokmecioglu resigned from his post due to unspecified violations related to his personal conduct, the company announced on Thursday.

The shock announcement came less than four months after Dokmecioglu took the beverage giant’s top gig. Keurig Dr Pepper shares were trading slightly higher on Thursday morning.

Keurig Dr Pepper said only that Dokmecioglu had “agreed to resign due to violations of the Company’s Code of Conduct that were unrelated to strategy, operations or financial reporting.”

Dokmecioglu also stepped down from the company’s board of directors.

“Keurig Dr Pepper’s Code of Conduct is built on a foundation of ethics, integrity and personal responsibility.  Every employee, without exception, is accountable for knowing and following the Code,” Paul Michaels, the company’s lead board director, said in a statement on the move.

Bob Gamgort, the company’s current executive chairman and former CEO, will resume his old role following Dokmecioglu’s abrupt exit.

“KDP has a deep and talented executive team,” said Gamgort. “I look forward to continuing to work with the leadership team and the Board in the role I held less than four months ago.” 

Dokmecioglu took over as CEO in July as part of a management succession plan that was announced months earlier. He had previously served as the company’s CFO.

Keurig Dr Pepper has a market cap of roughly $54 billion. The current company formed after Keurig Green Mountain acquired Dr Pepper Snapple Group in 2018.

The beverage giant isn’t the only company to face a sudden shift in upper management in recent months. In April, Kelli Valade announced her sudden resignation as CEO of restaurant chain Red Lobster after just eight months.