The company’s move to streamline its business operations, is part of its initiative to prepare its two other key executives to eventually succeed Muhtar Kent, the current chairman and CEO of Coca-Cola, according to the report of Washington Post.
Ahmet Bozer will be appointed as president of Coca-Cola International, which will be composed of Europe, Paficic, Eurasia, and Africa operations. Bozer currently serves as the president of the Eurasia and Africa Group.
Steve Cahillane, who has serving as president and CEO of Coca Cola Refreshments in North America since 2010, will be named president of Coca Cola Americas. He will supervise the company’s business operations in North and Latin America.
Irial Finan, the current president of Bottling Investments Group will remain in his position.
At present, the heads of business operations of the company in various regions are reporting directly to Kent. Under the new structure, the global operations of the Coca Cola will be distributed evenly. The company estimates almost one-half of its global sales volume comes from the Americas, and the other half is generated from the rest of the world.
In a statement, Kent explained that the company’s decision to consolidate its global operations under two large geographic regions is more beneficial to Coca-Cola. According to him, its reporting lines will be more efficient, it will be able to intensify its focus on key markets, and create a structure that leverages synergies. He also said the company would gain flexibility, to strategically adjust it s business operations in the different geographical regions in the future.
Beverage Digest editor, John Sicher, suggested that Kent and the other members of the board of Coca Cola will be able to gauge the capability of its two key executives in delivering results managing bigger operations. According to him, Kent will head Coca-Cola for many more years.
Coca-Cola’s new business structure will be implemented on January 1, 2013. The company reported a solid second quarter net revenue and a strong volume growth of 3 percent and 4 percent respectively. Its stock value went up by 1.39 percent to $81.12 per share after trading hours today (Monday, July 30).
