Coke picks second-in-command

By

Coca-Cola has promoted international operations director Muhtar Kent to president and chief operating officer.

Kent will take over immediately in the new role that makes him the soft drinks company’s second-most powerful executive behind chairman and CEO Neville Isdell, as well as the leading candidate to succeed his boss.

Kent has spent 28 years working for Coke and returned to the company after a break in 2005. Since then he has risen rapidly through the ranks with successive promotions last year from CEO of a Turkish Coke bottler to the director of Europe, Asia and the Middle East before being asked by Isdell to take responsibility for Coke’s international operations.

The company’s operating group presidents around the world will all report to Kent as well as Irial Finan, president of the company’s Bottling Investments Group.

Director of marketing, strategy and innovation Mary Minnick will continue to report to Isdell.

Recommended

Leo Burnett global restructure revealed

Marketing Week

Leo Burnett Worldwide has announced a restructure that sees UK chief executive Bruce Haines appointed to a new global management council (GMC). The news follows the departure of European president Richard Pinder, who left to join Publicis as chief operating officer in October. The restructure sees Leo Burnett Worldwide aligned more closely with its below-the-line […]

BT attracts PHD talent to in-house planning team

Marketing Week

BT has poached two senior executives from PHD to create its new in-house planning team four months after parting company with the agency. PHD media group manager, Allison Grainger, and media director, Stuart Bowden, have left the agency to join the BT Media Team headed by Steve Huddleston. Their move follows the decision by BT’s […]

Watchdogs hit out at green energy tariffs

Marketing Week

The National Consumer Council and consumer watchdog Energywatch are calling for honesty over green energy tariffs as the NCC publishes a report looking at the environmental credentials of green utility tariffs. The report finds that most green tariffs fail to live up to the environmental benefit that they claim to offer. The two consumer groups […]

Latest from Marketing Week