Karim Sadik-Khan, the CFO of beverage company Liquid Death, is bringing new life to the company’s finance function.
Just days after hitting the 100-day mark, Sadik-Khan candidly shares details about his refreshing levels of autonomy within the first few months on the job, his impression of the marketing machine within the company, his thoughts on creating actionable systems based upon high-quality data and more.
This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.
ADAM ZAKI: The day you were hired, you told me your initial goal was to have the systems in place to harness the data to evaluate the functionality and efficiency of the finance team. What has your progress on this front been like?
Karim Sadik-Khan: I think we are making really good progress. One key thing for me in any business is making sure everyone is aligned on the key metrics that drive the business. We are reviewing these metrics frequently and we’ve been able to utilize the opportunities presented to us through the data.
It’s about having clear metrics with our distributor partners, procurement processes, managing our sales teams in terms of distribution and authorizations, getting more product slots on shelves, driving down the cost of delivery, improving the timeliness of orders — it’s these types of things that are critical to us as a finance team.
In my previous role, it was a bit slower moving, as half of the spirit industry’s customers buy at the same time, every December. There, it was a focus on working hard and maximizing efficiency around the holiday season. Here, it’s peak summer when our product moves the most, but it’s much more consistent, so making sure we have the right products in the right place at the right time is critical for aligning these things with marketing.
Right now, we’re focused on aligning our sales and operating procedure plans because it wasn’t connecting our systems as well as it should have, and it was forcing everyone to look at the same numbers and make decisions off those numbers. But I think the real purpose of those metrics is aligning them as much as possible with all the data we have, then collaborating off them so everyone can buy into the metrics we have, and we can hold ourselves mutually accountable to the data while also using it to drive change.
What’s the biggest adjustment or change you’ve had to make in this role that you didn’t expect?
Sadik-Khan: One thing I find fun is the autonomy I have in decision-making here. At a company like this, there is no one above us. We have the board of directors, our CEO Mike Cessario, who is amazing, and the rest of the leadership team, but that’s it. There’s no holding company. When it comes to decision-making, it’s us. When I wanted to change our expense management system, we just did it. I said, “Hey, I am going to do this,” and the response was, “Great, go for it.”
We also wanted to make some changes to who we were using for our credit facilities, so we just went out and did it. The speed at which we can institute change and make decisions is tremendous. I sort of knew that coming in, but it’s been invigorating to master things, engage with ideas, and travel to speak at conferences about our product and growth — it’s all been amazing.
Now that you’re settled in, which part of the company are you collaborating with the most right now, and have you had any influence on some of the viral and outside-the-box marketing your company is known for?
Sadik-Khan: We’ve been focused on collaborating across the entire system, but I would say sales through operations. It’s critical to ensure we have our sales and operations planning processes (S&OP) running. To do this, we must understand what our key drivers are in the sales process so we can make solid assumptions in our forecasts. Partnering with our operations team in this process is key to ensuring we are aligned with product and production capabilities.
Our marketing team is a well-oiled machine, and the speed at which they move is extraordinary. When I came on board, I said I was never going to judge the marketing team, and I was going to stay out of the way. They are great at collaborating with the company, especially with sales, so I’ve stayed out of the way and let them do their thing.
One thing noticeable about them when it comes to metrics and ROI is their impression-to-dollar ratio. In August, they drove 3 billion impressions across the media, and they spent tens of thousands of dollars instead of millions. They drove about $30 million of media at an earned media cost so low I can’t even say it. If other large beverage companies knew how they did it, they would be stunned.
From the ads we did with the Yeti Coffin to our partnership with [ice cream company] Van Leeuwen, where we sold a 60-day supply of hot fudge sundae-flavored sparkling water in six hours on Amazon, to our recent collaboration with Eminem, we are driving impressions that drive demand, and as long as the backside of the business remains a well-oiled machine, we can continue to grow with remarkable efficiency on the marketing cost side.
You’ve expanded the finance team considerably since you took the job, and you’re currently hiring for multiple senior-level positions across the company. How has that search been and what are you looking for when you fill positions on the finance team?
Sadik-Khan: When I came here, there was some great talent internally that gave me a good foundation to build a team. I love my accounting side of the house. I have a wonderful controller, an incredibly entrepreneurial leader who implemented our ERP systems years ago. He’s someone willing to learn, much like our assistant controller, who is constantly looking to drive positive change within our processes.
“Our marketing team is a well-oiled machine, and the speed at which they move is extraordinary. When I came on board, I said I was never going to judge the marketing team, and I was going to stay out of the way.”
Karim Sadik-Khan
CFO, Liquid Death
Where I was weak was on the finance side. The first thing I did was tap into my network. I brought in a good friend I worked with at PepsiCo. I needed a right hand on the finance function side because, as a CFO, you get pulled in so many directions. I needed someone who could run planning, head FP&A and help drive transformation and process improvement.
I also brought in a finance director I worked with at Beam Suntory. She is an incredibly talented person skilled at partnering with sales and finance teams to help drive change. She also has experience implementing things we plan to implement in the future, like improvements to our S&OP functions.
At the junior level, I will take anyone who is intelligent with a good attitude. I can’t teach hustle, attitude or being smart. I can teach people a direct store delivery system. I can teach people about the beverage business. While that’s harder for senior positions, once you have leaders in place and your operations running smoothly, those leaders can coach up the junior people.
For example, we were hiring for an associate general counsel position, a senior-level role. The leadership team was looking for someone who could wear many hats. I didn’t want anyone who told me, “I only look at contracts” or “I only deal with regulatory matters.” I needed someone who could jump in, embrace ambiguity and navigate the course with intellectual flexibility and experience.
What does an ideal 2025 look like?
Sadik-Khan: We want to continue driving our growth while building our brand as a healthy beverage company. The brand is incredible, and we have the demand. It’s about building the infrastructure and company around it. We need to build out world-class reporting, planning and forecasting processes to support the brand and deliver the product as efficiently as possible.
We need to build a first-class S&OP program. That means top-notch forecasting, demand planning and supply planning. We need to ensure we can provide the reporting and data to our sales leaders so they can chase opportunities, and provide the necessary information to decision-makers to ensure they are making the best choices in real time.
I don’t want data to be a struggle. I want quick analysis, smooth processes and efficient ways to provide information to our people so they are taking action based on consistent sets of numbers without debate.
