James Quincey to Succeed Muhtar Kent as
Chief Executive Officer in May 2017
Kent to Continue as Chairman
The Coca-Cola Company today announced that its Board of
Directors has approved unanimously the recommendation of Chairman
and Chief Executive Officer Muhtar Kent for an evolution of the
company’s senior leadership structure. Under the new structure,
company veteran James Quincey, President and Chief Operating
Officer, will succeed Kent as CEO, effective May 1, 2017. Kent will
continue as Chairman of the Board of Directors.
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James Quincey, President and Chief
Operating Officer, The Coca-Cola Company, stands with Muhtar Kent,
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, The Coca-Cola Company.
Quincey will succeed Kent as CEO, effective May 1, 2017. (Photo:
Business Wire)
The Board intends to nominate Quincey to stand for election as a
director at the 2017 Annual Shareowners Meeting in April.
“Managing The Coca-Cola Company to ensure our long-term growth
requires a thoughtful and orderly succession planning process,”
said Muhtar Kent. “I have been engaged with our Management
Development Committee and the full Board on talent development and
succession discussions throughout my tenure as CEO. We are certain
that James Quincey is prepared for these new responsibilities and
is the absolute right choice to lead our company and system into
the future.
“One of our Board’s key priorities is developing the next
generation of leaders and James is a perfect example of our talent
pipeline in action,” added Kent. “Having worked closely with James
during the past 10 years of his 20-year career with our company, I
know that his vast industry knowledge, expertise with our brands,
values and system, coupled with an acute understanding of evolving
consumer tastes, make him the ideal candidate to effectively lead
our company and bottling system. James has the strategic vision and
inspirational leadership to usher in the next phase of growth for
our great business.
“It has been the most wonderful and unique privilege to serve as
Chairman and CEO of our great company over the past eight years,”
Kent continued. “This transition comes at a time of important
evolution for The Coca-Cola Company. Our journey to refocus on our
core business model of building strong global brands, enhancing
sustainable customer value and leading a strong, dedicated
franchise system is well under way. During James’ time as President
and COO, he has further demonstrated his deep understanding of the
dynamics of our business and what it takes to win in the
marketplace.”
Sam Nunn, Independent Lead Director of The Coca-Cola Company’s
Board of Directors, said, “On behalf of the Board, we thank Muhtar
for his outstanding leadership and dedication as the Chairman and
CEO of The Coca-Cola Company. Muhtar has been a true visionary who
led the company through sustained growth and set the stage for the
tremendous opportunity that lies ahead. Muhtar has consistently put
the next decade in front of the next quarter and laid a solid
foundation for his successor and the shareowners. Among his many
achievements, Muhtar has built a world-class leadership team and we
are fortunate to have a leader with James’ capabilities as our next
CEO.”
Nunn expressed the Board’s confidence in the appointment of
Quincey: “James is a proven leader who is passionate about
developing people, building strong teams and creating winning
cultures everywhere he has been. He has the ideal combination of
skills, ability and experience and we believe that there is no
person more capable of leading The Coca-Cola Company.”
Warren Buffett, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of
Berkshire Hathaway Inc., said, “As Chairman and CEO, Muhtar has
been an excellent steward of Coca-Cola’s business over the last
eight years and I am thankful for the leadership he has provided to
put in place the right vision, strategy and thoughtful succession
plan for long-term success. I know James and like him, and believe
the company has made a smart investment in its future with his
selection.”
“I am truly honored and humbled to lead this great company into
the future,” said Quincey. “Muhtar has been a catalyst for change
at The Coca-Cola Company - driving the transformation of our global
bottling system, expanding our product portfolio and making
sustainability a business imperative. I am committed to continuing
my strong partnership with Muhtar, our talented management team and
associates, and our valued bottling partners to continue this
momentum and capture the enormous opportunities in front of
us.”
Quincey, 51, was named The Coca-Cola Company’s President and
Chief Operating Officer in August 2015. Earlier this year, he put
in place a new international operating structure and leadership
team to make the company more efficient and effective at the local
levels, helping our operating units become faster and more agile.
Throughout his career at Coca-Cola, Quincey has shown leadership in
addressing consumer changes by expanding product offerings,
introducing smaller package sizes, and most recently, driving
systematic portfolio reformulation to reduce added sugar with over
200 initiatives in progress.
Prior to this role, Quincey served as President of The Coca-Cola
Company’s Europe Group. Under his leadership, the Europe Group was
the company’s most profitable operating group as it strategically
expanded its brand portfolio and improved execution across the
geography.
Quincey served as President of the Northwest Europe &
Nordics Business Unit (NWEN) from 2008 to 2012. Among Quincey’s
many accomplishments during this time was his leadership during the
acquisition of innocent juice in 2009, which is now sold in more
than 14 countries and is well on its way to becoming one of the
company’s billion-dollar brands.
From 2005 to 2008, Quincey was President of the Mexico Division.
During his tenure in Mexico, he grew market share for brand
Coca-Cola and expanded the company’s portfolio with the relaunch of
Coca-Cola Zero and the acquisition of Jugos de Valle, one of the
company’s 20 brands that generates more than a billion dollars in
annual revenues and is now sold in 16 countries.
Quincey joined The Coca-Cola Company in Atlanta in 1996 as
Director, Learning Strategy for the Latin America Group, and went
on to serve in a series of operational roles of increased
responsibility in Latin America, leading to his appointment as
President of the South Latin Division in 2003. During his time in
South Latin, Quincey was instrumental in developing and executing a
successful brand, pack, price and channel strategy, which has now
been replicated in various forms throughout The Coca-Cola Company’s
global system.
Prior to joining Coca-Cola, he was a Partner in strategy
consulting at The Kalchas Group, a spin off from Bain & Company
and McKinsey. Quincey, who is bilingual in English and Spanish,
received a Bachelor's degree in Electronic Engineering from the
University of Liverpool.
“We are fortunate that Muhtar will continue as Chairman and
James has agreed to run the business as President and CEO,” said
Nunn. “The combination will ensure the continued success their
partnership has brought to the company over the last 16
months.”
About The Coca-Cola
Company
The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) is the world's largest beverage
company, refreshing consumers with more than 500 sparkling and
still brands and more than 3,800 beverage choices. Led by
Coca-Cola, one of the world's most valuable and recognizable
brands, our Company's portfolio features 20 billion-dollar brands,
18 of which are available in reduced-, low- or no-calorie options.
These brands include Diet Coke, Coca-Cola Zero, Fanta, Sprite,
Dasani, vitaminwater, Powerade, Minute Maid, Simply, Del Valle,
Georgia and Gold Peak. Through the world's largest beverage
distribution system, we are the No. 1 provider of both sparkling
and still beverages. More than 1.9 billion servings of our
beverages are enjoyed by consumers in more than 200 countries each
day. With an enduring commitment to building sustainable
communities, our Company is focused on initiatives that reduce our
environmental footprint, create a safe, inclusive work environment
for our associates, and enhance the economic development of the
communities where we operate. Together with our bottling partners,
we rank among the world's top 10 private employers with more than
700,000 system associates. For more information, visit Coca-Cola
Journey at www.coca-colacompany.com, follow us on Twitter at
twitter.com/CocaColaCo, visit our blog, Coca-Cola Unbottled, at
www.coca-colablog.com or find us on LinkedIn at
www.linkedin.com/company/the-coca-cola-company.
Forward-Looking
Statements
This press release may contain statements, estimates or
projections that constitute “forward-looking statements” as defined
under U.S. federal securities laws. Generally, the words “believe,”
“expect,” “intend,” “estimate,” “anticipate,” “project,” “will” and
similar expressions identify forward-looking statements, which
generally are not historical in nature. Forward-looking statements
are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause
actual results to differ materially from The Coca-Cola Company’s
historical experience and our present expectations or projections.
These risks include, but are not limited to, obesity concerns;
water scarcity and poor quality; evolving consumer preferences;
increased competition and capabilities in the marketplace; product
safety and quality concerns; perceived negative health consequences
of certain ingredients, such as non-nutritive sweeteners and
biotechnology-derived substances, and of other substances present
in our beverage products or packaging materials; an inability to be
successful in our innovation activities; increased demand for food
products and decreased agricultural productivity; changes in the
retail landscape or the loss of key retail or foodservice
customers; an inability to expand operations in emerging and
developing markets; fluctuations in foreign currency exchange
rates; interest rate increases; an inability to maintain good
relationships with our bottling partners; a deterioration in our
bottling partners' financial condition; increases in income tax
rates, changes in income tax laws or unfavorable resolution of tax
matters; increased or new indirect taxes in the United States or in
one or more other major markets; increased cost, disruption of
supply or shortage of energy or fuels; increased cost, disruption
of supply or shortage of ingredients, other raw materials or
packaging materials; changes in laws and regulations relating to
beverage containers and packaging; significant additional labeling
or warning requirements or limitations on the marketing or sale of
our products; an inability to protect our information systems
against service interruption, misappropriation of data or breaches
of security; unfavorable general economic conditions in the United
States; unfavorable economic and political conditions in
international markets; litigation or legal proceedings; failure to
adequately protect, or disputes relating to, trademarks, formulae
and other intellectual property rights; adverse weather conditions;
climate change; damage to our brand image and corporate reputation
from negative publicity, even if unwarranted, related to product
safety or quality, human and workplace rights, obesity or other
issues; changes in, or failure to comply with, the laws and
regulations applicable to our products or our business operations;
changes in accounting standards; an inability to achieve our
overall long-term growth objectives; deterioration of global credit
market conditions; default by or failure of one or more of our
counterparty financial institutions; an inability to timely
implement our previously announced actions to reinvigorate growth,
or to realize the economic benefits we anticipate from these
actions; failure to realize a significant portion of the
anticipated benefits of our strategic relationship with Monster
Beverage Corporation; an inability to renew collective bargaining
agreements on satisfactory terms, or we or our bottling partners
experience strikes, work stoppages or labor unrest; future
impairment charges; multi-employer plan withdrawal liabilities in
the future; an inability to successfully integrate and manage our
Company-owned or -controlled bottling operations; an inability to
successfully manage our refranchising activities; an inability to
successfully manage the possible negative consequences of our
productivity initiatives; an inability to attract or retain a
highly skilled workforce; global or regional catastrophic events;
and other risks discussed in our Company’s filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including our Annual
Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015 and our
subsequently filed Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, which filings
are available from the SEC. You should not place undue reliance on
forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they
are made. The Coca-Cola Company undertakes no obligation to
publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements.
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version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161209005290/en/
The Coca-Cola CompanyMedia:Kent Landers,
+01-404-676-2683orInvestors and Analysts:Tim
Leveridge, +01-404-676-7563
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