b'Coke Florida President Recognized by the Florida Panthers in Celebration of Black Excellence Series Coke Florida President and Chief Operating Officer Thomas Benford was honored as part of the Florida Panthers third annual Celebration of Black Excellence. The weekly Black History Month series by the professional ice hockey team highlights individuals who demonstrate excellence in their industry and community throughout South Florida. Benford was recognized for his leadership in launching Coke Florida as a fully integrated Coca-Cola Bottler and his contributions to growing the companys operations across the state since its inception. Additionally, the Panthers acknowledged Coke Floridas ongoing commitment to improving communities through community engagement work executed by local teams. Benford and other influential business and community leaders were honored during a special presentation at a Florida Panthers game.Coke Florida Promotes System Veteran to Commercial Planning Role Coca-Cola Beverages Florida, LLC (Coke Florida) has promoted Jeremie Hayford to Vice President, Planning - Commercial Operations. Jeremie joined Coke Florida in 2017 and has nearly 20 years of experience in the Coca-Cola System. In his new role, Jeremie will work to optimize customer service and improve resource productivity, quality, and the efficiency of commercial operations through a modern, digital-first planning framework. He will also help align the executional objectives of demand planning, transportation, dispatching, and inventory management with Coke Floridas commercial strategy.Commercial planning is a key, enabling capability in our business. We are pleased to have Jeremie bring his expertise into this role on our senior leadership team, where he will help us better serve our customers and improve our associate experience, said Thomas Benford, President and Chief Operating Officer of Coca-Cola Beverages Florida, LLC.Before joining Coke Florida, Jeremie worked across the Coke system in areas including business process engineering, DSD planning, distribution, and end-to-end planning. Jeremies most recent role with Coke Florida was as the Director, Manufacturing and Supply Systems, where he provided strategic oversight for transformation projects and support of new and existing applications across Coke Floridas supply chain.We know CCBA Members join us in congratulating Jeremie on his promotion!Terrence Gee Mentors Technology LeadersTerrence Gee, Senior Vice President, Technology and Enterprise Transformation at Coke Florida, was the cohort speaker for the Information Technology Senior Management Forum (ITSMF) Management Academy in March. ITSMF focuses on nurturing, connecting, and developing mid to senior technology managers on their path to assuming executive-level responsibilities. Gee, an academy mentor and enterprising technology expert who has impacted organizations tremendously throughout his career journey, was invited to share insights and provide valuable feedback for transitioning from management to leadership with the 75-member ITSMF class of 2023/2024 cohort. Gee also lends his voice to inspire youth across Florida to consider careers in tech and broaden their knowledge about opportunities available within the Coca-Cola system. He is committed to supporting Coke Floridas mission to provide technology access and increasing digital fluency in communities.10'