PEMBROKE PINES, FLA. — Longtime PepsiCo executive Kathy Cole has been hired as chief operating officer of Bang Energy. In her new role, Ms. Cole will facilitate the integration of a new high-performance operations model at the privately held company.

Ms. Cole’s appointment followed by a few days the announcement that Vital Pharmaceuticals, Inc., the parent company of Bang Energy, had filed a voluntary petition under the Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Code in the Southern District of Florida.

Ms. Cole joins Bang Energy from Harvest Sherwood Food Distributors, the largest independent food distributor in the United States, where she most recently was president and COO. Earlier, she held several senior leadership positions at PepsiCo Frito-Lay where she spent 13 years in sales and finance roles with increasing responsibility. She also worked in sales, finance, and logistic leadership capacities for 14 years with Coca-Cola Enterprises.

“With nearly three decades of high-level food and beverage experience and a proven track record in operational leadership, Kathy Cole is uniquely qualified to build upon Bang Energy’s success and seamlessly integrate supply chain, distribution, operations, sales, and finance,” said Jack Owoc, founder and chief executive officer of Bang Energy. “We are confident that Kathy’s skills and longtime industry relationships will fuel Bang Energy’s strategic growth as we transition to a 100% vertically operated decentralized distribution model.”

Ms. Cole is a member of the Network of Executive Women (NEW), Women’s Inclusion Network (WIN) and serves as a sponsor and mentor for Leadership Investment for Tomorrow and as an executive sponsor of the Diversity & Inclusion Council, among other advisory and leadership roles.

She received a bachelor of science degree in accounting at Evansville University and a master’s degree in business administration at Walsh College.