New Driscoll’s CFO has the pedigree to drive international expansion

After 26 years, and at a time when the pressures of a CFO could arguably not be heavier, Wadih Khayat is trading out a can of Coke for a box of berries.

Khayat was recently hired as CFO of family-owned berry producer Driscoll’s after more than two and a half decades with The Coca-Cola Company, where during his tenure he worked as finance chief of Coca-Cola’s Europe and Asia Pacific regions.

He was also the CFO and head of strategy for Coca Cola’s Global Ventures portfolios.

Digging in. Just weeks into his new gig at Driscoll’s, Khayat told CFO Brew he was excited to be able to bring his international business experience to one of the world’s largest berry companies. Significant international growth, after all, is a cornerstone of Driscoll’s 10-year growth strategy, which Khayat is helping develop.

“[Driscoll’s has] just scratched the surface internationally,” he said. “You don’t influence the same way in Europe versus Asia versus the Americas, so to have that humility to listen, to understand, and to adapt, I think, is critical.”

So far, learning and understanding Driscoll’s “very complicated business model” has presented Khayat with the steepest learning curve, he said. “We’re really connected to agriculture, where Mother Nature is extremely important and has a direct impact on your business model, compared to purely manufacturing.”

Driscoll’s uses a revenue-sharing model where independent growers receive about 85% of the revenue generated from berry sales. Those growers manage the planting, maintenance, and harvesting of the company’s proprietary berry varieties. Driscoll’s part is marketing, distribution, and R&D.

Macro pressures. Khayat acknowledged that he started at Driscoll’s at a turbulent time, when CFOs are having to address many different macroeconomic pressures, like the ever-rising price of oil, while still executing on the day-to-day work.

In the current economic climate, “we have to design an organization that is as agile and resilient as possible,” Khayat said. He is focused on protecting Driscoll’s balance sheet, ensuring strong governance, and having the right capital allocation.

Khayat said the company is under pressure in four major areas: “The first one is economic volatility and political uncertainty around the world right now…We are all trying to see if inflation is going to come back...what impact it’s going to have on our cash planning, on our revenue forecasting. The second pressure is around digital transformation in terms of AI. Do we really understand AI? Do we really believe our AI is going to impact what we do on a daily basis? Have we modernized our systems? Do we ensure that we have strong data governance?

“The third one is around talent. The talent shortage is real; we need to ensure that we have the right talent, the right level of capabilities to bring us to the next level.”

Finally, Khayat said, “we’ve been asked to deliver faster reporting, and to be able to support all the strategic decisions that the company is facing on a daily basis, and we’re going to have to be faster.”

“We have to be a judge, to understand what are the opportunities, the risks, the flexibility that we have to continue to grow [the] top line and our profitability,” he added.