Coke restructures global businesses

Coca-Cola is to restructure its global business into three separate divisions as it looks to streamline reporting lines and intensify its focus on key markets.

Coca-Cola

The business will be split into Coca-Cola International, which will consist of the company’s Europe, Pacific, Eurasia and Africa operations; Coca-Cola Americas, which will include its North America and Latin America businesses; and Bottling Investments Group (BIG), which will oversee the company’s bottling operations outside of North America.

Ahmet Bozer, who current heads up the Eurasia and Africa Group, will be appointed as president of Coca-Cola International. President and chief executive officer of Coca-Cola Refreshments will become president of Coca-Cola Americas. Irial Finan will continue as president of BIG.

All three presidents will report into Muhtar Kent, Coca-Cola’s chairman and chief executive officer when the changes become effective in 2013.

It is not yet clear how the changes will affect strategy or the structure of the marketing team in the UK and Europe. A spokeswoman says: “Related organisational changes will be announced in due course. Until such time, all current organisational and reporting relationships will remain as is.”

Muhtar Kent says the new structure gives Coca-Cola the “flexibility” to strategically adjust its business within its two large geographical regions in the future.

He adds: “This is the right structure for the next phase of our journey towards achieving our 2020 Vision.”

Coca-Cola’s 2020 Vision is based on six emerging global trends that it hopes to realise in order to “get ready for tomorrow today”.

The reorganisation follows the company’s acquisition of Coca-Cola Enterprises North America as it looked to address issues in its system in its flagship market and the evolution of its BIG business, which has become significant in growing the company’s operations in strategic markets such as China and India.

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