American Beverage
American Beverage, the national trade organization representing companies that manufacture and distribute non-alcoholic beverages in the US, has made two appointments this month.
Robert “Robb” Micek becomes the association’s executive vice president and chief financial officer. He replaces Mark Hammond, who is retiring after 37 years at American Beverage.
Across his career, Micek has worked with both associations and corporations in areas of finance, accounting, tax strategy, operations, M&A, marketing, human resources, technology, and procurement.
He most recently served as senior vice president and chief financial officer for ISACA, an international professional association based in Schaumburg, Ill., focused on IT audit, risk, security, privacy, and governance. Before that he held top financial oversight positions at the American Society of Plastic Surgeons and the University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System in Chicago.
Meanwhile, Merideth Potter joins the organization as senior vice president for public affairs.
Potter will oversee strategic communications and public affairs work for the non-alcoholic beverage industry, as well as play a leadership role on issues management. She will be a senior member of the Department of Government & Public Affairs, reporting to Kevin Keane, executive vice president for government and public affairs.
Potter joins AB from GMMB, a top national public relations agency that specializes in communications and media strategy. Based in Washington, D.C., it is one of the largest political and issues advocacy consulting firms in the USA.
While at GMMB, Potter worked alongside AB, The Coca-Cola Company, Keurig Dr Pepper and PepsiCo on the beverage industry’s strategic communications and issue campaigns to reduce its use of new plastic, bolster recycling nationally and help consumers reduce the sugar they get from beverages. She led the development of nationwide television and digital advertising and a robust social media campaign to help inform policymakers and others about the industry’s actions to lessen its environmental impact.
In other work at GMMB, Potter led media strategy campaigns for UnitedHealth Group, which is among the largest managed healthcare and insurance multinationals in the world. She also led campaigns on behalf of the American Academy of Dermatology to raise awareness among Gen Z of the importance of sun protection.