Benford to Lead Coke Florida
4/26/2021 2:16:00 PM | Football
Former LB named President and Chief Operating Officer
Former Rice linebacker Thomas N. Benford, who was a three year starter for the Owls at linebacker from 1996-98, has been promoted to President and Chief Operating Officer of Coca-Cola Beverages Florida (Coke Florida).
Benford previously served as the company's Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer. In his new role, he will oversee end-to-end commercial operations including planning, customer management, field sales, product supply, risk management, sustainability, and facilities management.
A family-owned independent Coca-Cola bottler founded in 2015, Coke Florida's exclusive sales and distribution territory covers over 20 million consumers across 47 Florida counties. It is one of the largest Black-owned businesses in the United States and is the third largest privately held and the sixth largest independent Coca-Cola bottler in the United States.
Benford recorded 242 tackles in 44 games (35 starts) in his career at Rice and his 32 career tackles for loss rank ninth in school history. He graduated from Rice with a degree in Economics and Computational and Applied Mathematics and earned his MBA from Harvard Business School.
Prior to joining Coke Florida, he was with the Halliburton Company, where he served as Marketing and Development Manager of Baroid Fluid Services and Corporate Finance Manager. Prior to Halliburton, he was an Investment Banking Analyst in the leveraged finance group at J.P. Morgan Chase.
Benford previously served as the company's Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer. In his new role, he will oversee end-to-end commercial operations including planning, customer management, field sales, product supply, risk management, sustainability, and facilities management.
A family-owned independent Coca-Cola bottler founded in 2015, Coke Florida's exclusive sales and distribution territory covers over 20 million consumers across 47 Florida counties. It is one of the largest Black-owned businesses in the United States and is the third largest privately held and the sixth largest independent Coca-Cola bottler in the United States.
Benford recorded 242 tackles in 44 games (35 starts) in his career at Rice and his 32 career tackles for loss rank ninth in school history. He graduated from Rice with a degree in Economics and Computational and Applied Mathematics and earned his MBA from Harvard Business School.
Prior to joining Coke Florida, he was with the Halliburton Company, where he served as Marketing and Development Manager of Baroid Fluid Services and Corporate Finance Manager. Prior to Halliburton, he was an Investment Banking Analyst in the leveraged finance group at J.P. Morgan Chase.
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