FDBusiness.com

The Coca-Cola Company has announced a number of senior leadership appointments to drive its ongoing transformation into a growth-oriented, consumer-centered, total beverage company.  Key changes, which will be effective when President and COO James Quincey becomes Chief Executive Officer on May 1, include:

* Combining Global Marketing, Customer and Commercial Leadership, and Strategy into one combined function under the leadership of a new Chief Growth Officer to drive growth across five strategic beverage categories.

* Appointing a Chief Innovation Officer to elevate Global Research & Development into a standalone innovation function reporting directly to the CEO. This represents the increased importance of innovation to the company’s growth plans.

* Positioning the Information Technology function as a direct report to the CEO given the importance of digitization as a growth enabler for the company’s business.

* Combining key global transactional and expertise services into an expanded and reconstituted Integrated Services organization that will primarily focus on financial, procurement and associate shared services.

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

The changes support work already under way to create a leaner, more agile corporate organization that is focused on strategy, governance and vital strategic initiatives, such as innovation and portfolio growth through leading brands and categories. They also follow changes made by James Quincey to the company’s international operations leadership team last year.

Leaders assuming new or expanded responsibility in the organization and reporting directly to Quincey, effective May 1, include:

Francisco Crespo, who currently serves as President of the Mexico business unit, will fill the newly created role of Chief Growth Officer.  A 28-year company veteran, Crespo will lead the company’s global marketing, corporate strategy, and customer and commercial leadership teams to create a consolidated team with a clear mandate for driving global growth. This role will lead the evolving category cluster model focused around five beverage categories: sparkling, juice/dairy/plant-based, tea and coffee, water and enhanced waters and energy.

Robert Long, currently Vice President, Research and Development, will become a direct report to the CEO as 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 continued innovation in beverages, packaging, ingredients and other areas of the business around the world.

Barry Simpson, currently Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer, will remain in his role but be elevated as a direct report to the CEO to increase visibility and focus on efforts to digitize all aspects of the company’s business.

Kathy Waller, currently Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, will assume expanded responsibility for the company’s strategic governance areas as Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and President, Enabling Services.