The Coca-Cola Company today announced new roles for four operational leaders, including the naming of two new group presidents. The company also announced the creation of a Global Ventures position. The promotions are a follow-up to an earlier announcement about the company’s election of a new president and chief operating officer and the transition to a new chief financial officer.
Manuel “Manolo” Arroyo will become group president for the Asia Pacific region. He will replace John Murphy, who has been elected to become executive vice president and chief financial officer on March 16, 2019, after a transition period with the current CFO, Kathy Waller.
Arroyo is an experienced operational leader who has led the company’s Mexico business since July 2017. His previous roles included serving as president of the SEWA and ASEAN business units and as general manager for Coca-Cola Iberia.
Arroyo will be succeeded in Mexico by Galya Molinas, who currently serves as senior vice president of Global Strategy & Insights for Coca-Cola. Molinas has 22 years of experience with the company, including previous roles as a business unit president.
Nikos Koumettis has been named as a group president, overseeing Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA). He replaces Brian Smith, who has been elected to become president and chief operating officer. Koumettis currently serves as president of the Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) business unit, where he oversees a large territory that includes 26 countries from Russia to Italy.
Koumettis will be succeeded as head of CEE by Lana Popovic, who currently serves as North-East Europe franchise general manager. Popovic previously served as franchise general manager for the Baltics and Poland. Popovic, who joined Coca-Cola in 2001, has held a variety of positions in Eastern and Southeast Europe. Popovic will report to Koumettis.
Jennifer Mann, the company’s Chief People Officer, will take on additional duties as president, Global Ventures. In this newly created position, Mann and her team will focus on globally scaling acquisitions and brands, such as Costa Limited, which is pending acquisition, and Coca-Cola’s investment in Monster Beverage Corp. Mann and her team will also identify and nurture the next series of fast-growing opportunities. Coca-Cola plans to announce the election of a new Chief People Officer at a future date.
Mann and all Coca-Cola group presidents will report to Smith. All changes take effect Jan. 1, 2019.
“We have a strong group of experienced operational leaders around the world, and these promotions will strengthen our team,” Smith said. “I congratulate all of these leaders and look forward to working together as we continue to evolve as a total beverage company.”
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