James R. Helvey, III - Director | Coca-Cola Consolidated (COKE) Executive Profile & Compensation

About James R. Helvey, III

Independent director since 2016; age 66; Managing Partner at Cassia Capital Partners (co‑founded in 2011). Former JP Morgan executive (risk and trading leadership across US, Europe, Asia), CEO of Cygnifi Derivatives Services, and Partner/Risk Management Officer at CMT Asset Management. Education: Wake Forest University (magna cum laude), Fulbright Scholar (University of Cologne), master’s in international finance and banking from Columbia University SIPA (International Fellow). Designated Audit Committee Financial Expert by COKE’s Board.

Past Roles

Organization	Role	Tenure	Committees/Impact
Cassia Capital Partners, LLC	Managing Partner	2011–present	Co‑founder; registered investment adviser leadership
CMT Asset Management Limited	Partner & Risk Management Officer	2005–2011	Firm‑wide risk oversight
Cygnifi Derivatives Services, LLC	Chairman & CEO	2000–2002	Led online derivatives services provider
J.P. Morgan & Co.	Senior roles (Liquidity Committee Chair; Risk Management Committee Vice Chair; Global Head of Derivative Counterparty Risk; swap/FX trading leads in Asia/Europe)	1985–2000	Enterprise risk governance; global trading leadership
U.S. Congress (NC 5th District)	Candidate	2003–2004	Public policy exposure

External Roles

Organization	Role	Tenure	Committees/Impact
Piedmont Federal Bank	Director	Current	Community bank board oversight
Verger Capital Management LLC	Advisory Board Member (prior Board Director)	Current (prior service)	Investment oversight; prior board governance
Computer Task Group, Inc.	Director; Chair of Board; Chair of Audit Committee	2015–2023	Led board and audit oversight (IT services firm)
Pike Corporation	Director; Lead Independent Director; Chair of Audit & Compensation	2005–2014	Independent leadership; committee governance (energy solutions)
Wake Forest University	Board service	Prior	Institutional governance
Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center	Board service	Prior	Health system governance

Board Governance

Independence and role: Board determined Helvey is independent; he serves on the Audit Committee and is designated an Audit Committee Financial Expert. Audit held 4 meetings in fiscal 2024.
Committee assignments: Audit Committee Member; not a committee chair.
Attendance and engagement: All incumbents attended ≥75% of Board/committee meetings in fiscal 2024; 11 of 12 directors participated in the 2024 Annual Meeting (virtual).
Lead Independent Director: Dennis A. Wicker reappointed as Lead Independent Director in March 2025; independent sessions occur at least twice per year.
Controlled company context: COKE is a Nasdaq “controlled company” (controlling stockholder J. Frank Harrison, III) and uses Executive Committee for nominations with controlling stockholder approval; The Coca‑Cola Company has one board designee (Elaine Bowers Coventry).

Fixed Compensation

Metric	2023	2024
Fees Earned or Paid in Cash ($) – Helvey	$194,800	$196,400
Base annual retainer for non‑employee directors ($)	$190,000	$190,000
Committee meeting fee per meeting ($)	$1,600	$1,600
Chair retainers (Audit / Compensation / Lead Independent) ($)	$20,000 / $15,000 / $20,000	$20,000 / $15,000 / $20,000
Director Deferral Plan availability	Yes (fee deferral; mutual fund tracking)	Yes (fee deferral; mutual fund tracking)

Notes: Employee directors do not receive director fees; Helvey is a non‑employee director.

Performance Compensation

Component	Status
Performance‑based pay for directors (RSUs/PSUs/options)	None disclosed; director compensation consists of cash retainers/fees with optional deferral.

Other Directorships & Interlocks

Area	Detail
Supplier/customer/competitor interlocks	None disclosed for Helvey; The Coca‑Cola Company maintains agreements and a designated director separate from Helvey.
Related person transactions	Audit Committee reviews/approves related person transactions; disclosures identify items tied to other directors/executives, not Helvey.

Expertise & Qualifications

Financial oversight: Audit Committee Financial Expert designation (SEC definition) underscores deep accounting/controls literacy.
Risk management: Former chair/vice chair of JP Morgan risk committees; global trading and counterparty risk leadership.
Education: Wake Forest (magna cum laude), Fulbright Scholar (University of Cologne), Columbia SIPA master’s (International Fellow).

Equity Ownership

Holder	Class	Shares Beneficially Owned	% of Class
James R. Helvey, III	Common Stock	—	<1%

Context: As of March 17, 2025, 7,713,088 Common and 1,004,696 Class B shares were outstanding. Hedging/short selling prohibited; pledging in margin accounts prohibited for directors/officers.

Governance Assessment

Strengths
- Independent director with audit financial expert designation on a board where independent oversight is critical under controlled company status.
- Broad external board experience (chair, lead independent, audit and compensation chair roles) indicating governance sophistication.
- Board mandates executive sessions for independents and maintains clear related‑party review protocols via Audit Committee.
- Attendance compliance (≥75%) indicates baseline engagement.
Potential concerns and investor signals
- Controlled company structure centralizes nomination and board leadership under controlling stockholder; investors should monitor independence in practice and Executive Committee nomination process.
- Ownership alignment: No reported common stock ownership for Helvey; absence of equity compensation for directors may reduce “skin‑in‑the‑game.”
- While related‑party exposures exist at COKE (e.g., leases with entities tied to controlling stockholder), none are attributed to Helvey; continued vigilance warranted given Audit Committee’s oversight role.
Policy safeguards
- Insider Trading Policy prohibits hedging/short selling and margin pledging; company adopted an incentive‑based compensation recovery (clawback) policy effective Aug 1, 2023.