Coca-Cola announces new CEO

COO James Quincey to take over in May

The Coca-Cola Company has announced that current President and Chief Operating Officer James Quincy will be the company’s next CEO.

Quincey will take over the role on May 1. Current CEO Muhtar Kent will continue as Chairman of the Board of Directors. Kent recommended the change in leadership structure and the board approved it. Quincey will stand for election as a director at Coca-Cola’s annual shareowners meeting in April.

Quincey joined Coca-Cola in 1996. Before becoming COO in August of 2015, he held the roles of president for the Europe Group, Northwest Europe and Nordics Business Unit, Mexico Division and South Latin Division.

“I am truly honored and humbled to lead this great company into the future,” says 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.”

The Coca-Cola Company is the world’s largest beverage company, with 2016 revenue to date exceeding $32 billion. The company and its bottling partners employ more than 700,000 people worldwide.

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Casey Laughman is the former Editor in Chief of Food Engineering magazine. He has almost two decades’ experience as a writer and editor for mainstream and trade publications. He spent several years as a writer and editor for two news services before becoming the editor of a legal publication and managing editor of a trade magazine that covered the commercial facilities market.