Former Coke CEO named to Green Mountain Coffee board

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR) has announced that Douglas N. Daft has been appointed to the Company’s Board of Directors and Compensation Committee. The addition of Mr. Daft expands the Board of Directors to nine members. Mr. Daft is the former Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of the Coca-Cola Company, Inc. He joined the Coca-Cola Company in 1969 in the Sydney, Australia office. He subsequently held various positions throughout the Asia Region, residing in Indonesia, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Tokyo. In 1991 Daft moved to the Company’s Atlanta headquarters to assume responsibility for the Asia and Pacific region. Later the Middle East and Africa regions were added. He was appointed president and chief operating officer in December 1999 and was elected chairman, Board of Directors, and chief executive officer of The Coca-Cola Company in February 2000. He served in those capacities until retiring in May 2004.
Mr. Daft currently serves on the boards of The McGraw-Hill Group of Companies and Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. Daft is also a Member of the European Advisory Council for N. M. Rothschild & Sons Limited and a member of the Advisory Board of Longreach, Inc., of Tisbury Capital and of Thomas H. Lee Partners. He is also a member of the Board of Governors of Thunderbird, The Garvin School of International Management in Arizona; chairman of the Advisory Board for the Churchill Archives Center, Churchill College, Cambridge; a Patron of the American Australian Association and a Trustee of the Cambridge Foundation.
Mr. Daft received a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the University of New England and a post-graduate degree in administration from the University of New South Wales. He holds an honorary doctorate in international law from Thunderbird, The American Graduate School of International Management. In the June 2005 Queen’s Birthday honours, Daft was awarded the Companion in the General Division of the Order of Australia, AC.
“I welcome Doug to GMCR. Clearly, his leadership and achievement at the world’s largest beverage company will add tremendous perspective to our Board of Directors,” said Robert P. Stiller, Founder and Chairman of the Board of Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. “I am confident that his strategic thinking and broad global expertise will help us continue on our path of financial strength.”
Mr. Daft said, “I’m excited to be working with GMCR. I am intrigued by its potential for growth and believe I can contribute my experience to the Board in a way that best serves the interests of the Company and its shareholders.”
About Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR)
As a leader in the specialty coffee industry, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. is recognized for its award-winning coffees, innovative brewing technology, and socially responsible business practices. GMCR’s operations are managed through two business units. The Specialty Coffee business unit produces coffee, tea and hot cocoa from its family of brands, including Tully’s Coffee®, Green Mountain Coffee®, Newman’s Own® Organics coffee and Timothy’s World Coffee®. The Keurig business unit is a pioneer and leading manufacturer of gourmet single-cup brewing systems. K-Cup® portion packs for Keurig® Single-Cup Brewers are produced by a variety of licensed roasters, including Green Mountain Coffee, Tully’s Coffee and Timothy’s. GMCR supports local and global communities by offsetting 100% of its direct greenhouse gas emissions, investing in Fair Trade Certified™ coffee, and donating at least five percent of its pre-tax profits to social and environmental projects. Visit www.gmcr.com for more information.
Forward-looking statements
Certain statements contained herein, including GMCR’s intention to complete the proposed acquisition, are not based on historical fact and are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the applicable securities laws and regulations. Generally, these statements can be identified by the use of words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “feel,” “forecast,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “potential,” “project,” “should,” “would,” and similar expressions intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. Owing to the uncertainties inherent in forward-looking statements, actual events or results could differ materially from those stated herein. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, the impact on sales and profitability of consumer sentiment in this difficult economic environment, GMCR’s success in efficiently expanding operations and capacity to meet growth, GMCR’s success in efficiently and effectively integrating Tully’s and Timothy’s wholesale operations and capacity into its Specialty Coffee business unit, GMCR’s success in introducing new product offerings, the ability of lenders to honor their commitments under GMCR’s credit facility, competition and other business conditions in the coffee industry and food industry in general, fluctuations in availability and cost of high-quality green coffee, any other increases in costs including fuel, Keurig’s ability to continue to grow and build profits with its roaster partners in the At Home and Away from Home businesses, the impact of the loss of major customers for GMCR or reduction in the volume of purchases by major customers, delays in the timing of adding new locations with existing customers, GMCR’s level of success in continuing to attract new customers, sales mix variances, weather and special or unusual events, as well as other risks described more fully in GMCR’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"). Forward-looking statements reflect management’s expectations as of the date of this press release, and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties. GMCR does not undertake to revise these statements to reflect subsequent developments, other than in its regular, quarterly earnings releases.
Source: WATERBURY, Vt.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--12.9.2009