The Coca‑Cola Company Announces Senior Leadership Appointments

In its ongoing transformation into a growth-oriented total beverage company, The Coca‑Cola Company has announced several new senior leadership appointments in its global leadership team in Atlanta.

This May saw chief operations officer James Quincey take up the role of president and chief executive of The Coca‑Cola Company.

“We are moving quickly to structure our organisation for faster growth and to ensure we can respond to the fast-changing needs of our customers, system and associates around the world,” James said. 

“Each of the leaders named today is highly capable and understands our clear mandate for change, and I look forward to partnering with them as we transform our business for the future.

“The organisational announcement is another building block in our company’s transformational journey,” he said. 

The changes support work already under way to create a leaner, more agile corporate organisation that is focused on strategy and vital strategic initiatives.

This includes innovation and portfolio growth through leading brands and categories. 

This latest round follows changes James made to the company’s international operations leadership team last year.

Leaders who have assumed new or expanded responsibility in the organisation include:

Francisco Crespo, who previously served as president of the Mexico business unit has filled the newly created role of chief growth officer. A 28-year company veteran, Francisco is now leading the global marketing, corporate strategy, and customer and commercial leadership teams to create a consolidated team with a clear mandate for driving global growth across five strategic beverage categories.

Francisco is uniquely qualified for this role, having successfully led the expansion of the total beverage portfolio in each of the key Latin America markets in which he has worked. Since 2013, he has overseen the continued expansion of products and brands in Mexico, one of the company’s most important international business units. 

To read Francisco’s biography, click here.

Robert Long, previously vice-president, research and development, has been appointed chief innovation officer. This move is indicative of Coca‑Cola’s increased focus on accelerating the growth of its consumer-centric brand portfolio with hundreds of new products and fresh innovation in beverages, packaging, ingredients and other areas of the business around the world.

To read Robert’s biography, click here.

Barry Simpson, senior vice-president and chief information officer, remains in his role which has been elevated as a direct report to the chief executive to increase visibility and focus on efforts to digitise all aspects of the company’s business. Barry became chief information officer last year and oversees the company’s global information technology strategy, services and operations.

To read Barry’s biography, click here

Kathy Waller has assumed expanded responsibility for the company’s strategic governance areas as executive vice-president, chief financial officer and president, enabling services. 

The global technical team led by Dr Ed Hays includes a newly created integrated services team led by Robin Moore and a new business transformation team led by Mark Eppert reporting to Kathy.

The integrated services team is focusing on financial, procurement and associate shared services, while the business transformation team is responsible for driving the changes needed to implement the company’s new operating model, including productivity and zero-based budgeting work.

To read Kathy’s biography, click here.

Brent Hastie, previously senior vice-president, corporate strategy and planning, is the new chief financial and supply chain officer for Coca‑Cola North America. Brent joined the company in 2006 and has held numerous finance, strategy, commercial and brand leadership roles in corporate, Coca‑Colarefreshments and the North America group. He will report to Sandy Douglas, executive vice-president and president, Coca‑Cola North America.

Jennifer Mann, currently chief of staff to president and chief executive James Quincey, has also become chief people officer. Coca‑Cola’s long-term growth and success is dependent on investing in and developing its people and strengthening the talent pipeline. Jennifer will lead efforts to drive cultural change throughout the organisation and will continue to serve as James’s chief of staff. 

To read Jennifer’s biography, click here.

Beatriz Perez, previously vice-president and chief sustainability officer, has become chief public affairs, communications and sustainability officer. In this new role, Beatriz will leverage the important external stakeholder work done in public affairs and communications, sustainability and partnerships in a more strategic, integrated and holistic way.

To read Beatriz’s biography, click here.

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