Latest news with #HenriqueBraun
Zawya
5 days ago
- Business
- Zawya
The Coca-Cola Company Names New Leader for Africa Operating Unit
The Coca-Cola Company ( today announced that Luis Felipe Avellar will become president of the Africa operating unit effective Sept. 1. Avellar currently serves as president of the company's Mexico operations, which are part of the Latin America operating unit. Avellar will succeed Luisa Ortega, who, as previously announced, is taking a new role as president of the company's Europe operating unit. Avellar will report to Coca-Cola Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Henrique Braun. 'Luis has had an outstanding career that has included extensive leadership roles in our Latin America operations,' Braun said. 'Luis also has experience working for our company in Africa, and I'm excited to see him return to Johannesburg to build on the system's ongoing work to serve the growing African market.' About Luis Felipe Avellar Avellar, 49, started his career at Coca-Cola in 2002 as a finance specialist in Brazil. He went on to serve in a variety of roles of increasing responsibility in Brazil before being named general manager of the Brazil South Region in 2016. In 2019, he took a new role as vice president and general manager for Southern Africa, based in Johannesburg. Two years later, he returned to Latin America to serve as president of Brazil and South Cone operations. He was named to his current role in Mexico in 2023. Avellar began his career in 1998 in the finance function with SC Johnson in Brazil. Avellar earned a Bachelor of Science degree in economics from the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro. He later earned an executive MBA in finance from the same university. Most recently, he completed the Advanced Management Program at IESE Business School in Spain. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Coca-Cola. Contacts: Investors and Analysts: Robin Halpern, koinvestorrelations@ Media: Wendy Thole-Muir, wtholemuir@ About The Coca-Cola Company: The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) is a total beverage company with products sold in more than 200 countries and territories. Our company's purpose is to refresh the world and make a difference. We sell multiple billion-dollar brands across several beverage categories worldwide. Our portfolio of sparkling soft drink brands includes Coca-Cola, Sprite and Fanta. Our water, sports, coffee and tea brands include Dasani, smartwater, vitaminwater, Topo Chico, BODYARMOR, Powerade, Costa, Georgia, Fuze Tea, Gold Peak and Ayataka. Our juice, value-added dairy and plant-based beverage brands include Minute Maid, Simply, innocent, Del Valle, fairlife and AdeS. We're constantly transforming our portfolio, from reducing sugar in our drinks to bringing innovative new products to market. We seek to positively impact people's lives, communities and the planet through water replenishment, packaging recycling, sustainable sourcing practices and carbon emissions reductions across our value chain. Together with our bottling partners, we employ more than 700,000 people, helping bring economic opportunity to local communities worldwide. Learn more at and follow us on Instagram ( Facebook ( and LinkedIn (
Yahoo
18-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
The Coca-Cola Company Names New Leader for Europe Operating Unit
ATLANTA, July 18, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Coca-Cola Company today announced that Luisa Ortega will become president of the Europe operating unit effective Sept. 1, succeeding Nikos Koumettis, who will retire in 2026 after a 25-year career with the company. Koumettis will remain with the company through Feb. 28, 2026, as a senior advisor. He will also serve on the board of directors of Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages Pvt. Ltd., a company-owned bottler in India. Ortega joined Coca-Cola in 2019 and currently serves as president of the Africa operating unit. In this role, she leads a complex business that operates across 54 markets. Koumettis has led the Europe operating unit since it was created in 2021. "Luisa has done an outstanding job leading our African business, where our system has continued to make major investments to serve growing markets on the continent," said Henrique Braun, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of The Coca-Cola Company. "As head of Europe, she will bring great international experience to one of our biggest and most important operating units." The company thanked Koumettis for his many contributions. "Nikos has been a valued colleague for many years, and he has played a vital role in strengthening our European business," Braun said. "The operating unit was honored as the company's top performer for 2023, which is a testament to the strong work of Nikos and his team." Ortega will continue to report to Braun in her new role. Ortega's successor in Africa will be named at a future date. About Nikos Koumettis Koumettis, 60, joined Coca‑Cola in 2001. Over his career, he has led operations in more than 100 countries, with a consistent focus on delivering strong business results and developing talent. His early roles with the company included business unit president for Canada; president of the Adriatic and Balkans business unit; and Southeast Mediterranean Region general manager, with responsibility for Greece and Cyprus. He played a leadership role in several innovations, including the 2002 launch of the Sprite Zero brand, which originated in Greece. Koumettis served as president of the Central and Southern Europe business unit from 2011 to 2016. From 2016 to 2018, he was president of the company's Central and Eastern Europe business unit. In 2016, he founded and led the company's Global Franchise Leadership Council to help develop global general management and franchise capabilities. In 2019, Koumettis became group president for Europe, Middle East and Africa, overseeing six business units spanning from Western Europe to Russia to Southern Africa. He became president of the Europe operating unit in 2021 when the company's current operating model was established. Koumettis is a strong advocate of purpose-driven business and, in 2019, was one of the key leaders in the launch of the company's purpose statement: to refresh the world and make a difference. Throughout his career, Koumettis led operations that qualified for the company's top internal honors, including the prestigious Woodruff Cup, which Europe won for 2023. Prior to Coca‑Cola, Koumettis served in marketing roles with Kraft Jacobs Suchard; sales and distribution roles with Elgeka, a large Greek distribution company; and in commercial and logistics functions for Papastratos S.A./Philip Morris, the biggest tobacco company in Greece. After the transition in September, Koumettis will continue to co-lead the Global Franchise Leadership Council. About Luisa Ortega Ortega, 55, joined Coca‑Cola in 2019 as vice president and general manager of the South Latin business unit. She was later named deputy president and then president of South Latin. In 2021, she became president of the newly created central zone of the Latin America operating unit. She began her duties as president of the Africa operating unit in 2023. Prior to Coca‑Cola, Ortega worked at SC Johnson for more than 14 years in various roles in Europe, the United States and Asia Pacific. She served as general manager for the Western Europe region and, prior to that, was the global head of Insecticides Business. She also worked at Endesa, a utility corporation that serves mainly Spain and Portugal. Ortega, a native of Spain, has a bachelor's degree in business administration from Universidad Pontificia Comillas and an MBA from the IESE Business School, both in Spain, along with participating in the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School. About The Coca-Cola Company The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) is a total beverage company with products sold in more than 200 countries and territories. Our company's purpose is to refresh the world and make a difference. We sell multiple billion-dollar brands across several beverage categories worldwide. Our portfolio of sparkling soft drink brands includes Coca-Cola, Sprite and Fanta. Our water, sports, coffee and tea brands include Dasani, smartwater, vitaminwater, Topo Chico, BODYARMOR, Powerade, Costa, Georgia, Fuze Tea, Gold Peak and Ayataka. Our juice, value-added dairy and plant-based beverage brands include Minute Maid, Simply, innocent, Del Valle, fairlife and AdeS. We're constantly transforming our portfolio, from reducing sugar in our drinks to bringing innovative new products to market. We seek to positively impact people's lives, communities and the planet through water replenishment, packaging recycling, sustainable sourcing practices and carbon emissions reductions across our value chain. Together with our bottling partners, we employ more than 700,000 people, helping bring economic opportunity to local communities worldwide. Learn more at and follow us on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn. View source version on Contacts Investors and Analysts: Robin Halpern, koinvestorrelations@ Media: Scott Leith, sleith@ Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Time of India
30-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
One summer doesn't tell the story: Coke upbeat on India
Mumbai: Coca-Cola global chief operating officer Henrique Braun declared consumer demand in India was 'resilient' amid slowing sales across household products and groceries, exacerbated by early onset of monsoon that curtailed sales of summer products, including beverages and colas. "We continue to see resilient demand in India. Summer still accounts for a larger percentage all over the world. But what is more important is the overall year equation, how you get events during the year when you can actually increase consumption, and then level off the seasonality moving forward," said Braun. "There are still many occasions that we need to develop for seasonality to actually be lowered. An all-weather mindset is important and the only thing that's going to change is that we are going to pivot fast and make sure we need to be back on track." Demand for fast-moving consumer goods worsened to a two-year low in the March quarter with FMCG volume sales growth of 3.5%, according to global research firm Kantar. However, Coca-Cola saw double-digit volume growth in the quarter due to higher inventory stocking before summer. However, the onset of India's monsoon, the earliest since 2009, impacted sales growth of summer goods including beverages and ice-cream, which counts April-June as their peak season. The company behind Maaza and Thums Up , however, said market measurements don't fully factor ecommerce sales, especially quick commerce in cities, which have been seeing highest demand pressure over the past year. "So, if you think about the urban, not only the sales that you get through the normal channels, but the whole ecosystem (has to be factored in). That math is not easily done as some of the market measurements don't capture everything. It's all happening in the urban, not necessarily in the rural," added Braun. "India has accelerated tremendously in digitisation. One of the things that was, to me, an eye opener as well, in terms of another channel that's developing here is the quick commerce that is very unique to India. It's accelerating, every time I come in, it's bigger." India is Atlanta-based Coca-Cola's fifth largest market by volume. Globally and well as in India, shifting consumer tastes are prompting beverage companies, including Coca-Cola and Pepsi , to find ways to diversify from traditional soda and high-calorie juices to low calories versions.
Time of India
29-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Coke's plan is to have an endless summer
Representative image (Picture credit: AP) MUMBAI: Coca-Cola is pivoting towards an "all-weather" strategy to get consumers to spend on soft drinks beyond summers - the peak sales season for beverage firms worldwide as companies increasingly contend with the scourge of climate change and vagaries of weather. "An all-weather mindset is very important. It reduces dependence on seasonality," said Henrique Braun, global chief operating officer and executive VP at The Coca-Cola Company. Implementing an all-weather strategy in India would mean creating more occasions to consume beverages. Coca-Cola is betting big on festivals to drive more consumption of cold beverages in India. "India is a developing market... there are too many occasions that we need to develop in order for the seasonality to be lower. It takes time, but that's the game in the long term," Braun said in a media roundtable on Thursday, indicating that the early arrival of monsoons in India this year may impact summer sales. "You might have an impact on a daily basis, weekly basis, but you need to overcome these over time, and that's what the (all-weather) strategy is," Braun said. The monsoon hit Kerala on May 24, eight days ahead of its normal arrival date on June 1, the earliest onset since 2009. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Kickstart your new journey with the Honda Shine 125 Honda Learn More Undo Rains have also advanced to other parts of the country, impacting sales of soft drinks, cold beverages, and ice creams. Braun's trip to India, the second executive visit from Coca-Cola's global leadership team this year after CFO John Murphy, comes at a time when the local beverage space has become more competitive after Reliance's Campa entered the market with its cheaper-priced cola variants. "The barrier to entry is not that big, but the barrier to stay and scale is very high," said Braun, who discussed growth opportunities with the India team and studied the trends shaping up in the market during his visit. Coca-Cola, which continues to see "resilient" demand in India despite a broader slowdown in consumption over the past few quarters, will offer a wide selection of choices to consumers and build a varied portfolio across pack sizes amid a push towards healthier options among certain sections of the population. "More than two-thirds of our products globally have zero-calorie offerings from the same brands. There's always a product for a consumer need state in a size and serving that they want and the formulations that they can enjoy with the best taste. That's our approach. Our job is to continue to provide the right portfolio and let choice be the driver," Braun said. Coca-Cola said it wants to build more billion-dollar brands out of India. Over the years, it has built two homegrown brands, Maaza and Thums Up (which were acquired by the company in the 1990s), into billion-dollar brands and took them global. Sprite (not local) is the other one to have reached that mark in India. Stay informed with the latest business news, updates on bank holidays and public holidays . AI Masterclass for Students. Upskill Young Ones Today!– Join Now
Time of India
29-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
One summer doesn't tell the story: Coke upbeat on India
Live Events (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel Mumbai: Coca-Cola global chief operating officer Henrique Braun declared consumer demand in India was 'resilient' amid slowing sales across household products and groceries, exacerbated by early onset of monsoon that curtailed sales of summer products, including beverages and colas."We continue to see resilient demand in India. Summer still accounts for a larger percentage all over the world. But what is more important is the overall year equation, how you get events during the year when you can actually increase consumption, and then level off the seasonality moving forward," said Braun. "There are still many occasions that we need to develop for seasonality to actually be lowered. An all-weather mindset is important and the only thing that's going to change is that we are going to pivot fast and make sure we need to be back on track."Demand for fast-moving consumer goods worsened to a two-year low in the March quarter with FMCG volume sales growth of 3.5%, according to global research firm Kantar. However, Coca-Cola saw double-digit volume growth in the quarter due to higher inventory stocking before the onset of India's monsoon, the earliest since 2009, impacted sales growth of summer goods including beverages and ice-cream, which counts April-June as their peak company behind Maaza and Thums Up , however, said market measurements don't fully factor ecommerce sales, especially quick commerce in cities, which have been seeing highest demand pressure over the past year."So, if you think about the urban, not only the sales that you get through the normal channels, but the whole ecosystem (has to be factored in). That math is not easily done as some of the market measurements don't capture everything. It's all happening in the urban, not necessarily in the rural," added Braun. "India has accelerated tremendously in digitisation. One of the things that was, to me, an eye opener as well, in terms of another channel that's developing here is the quick commerce that is very unique to India. It's accelerating, every time I come in, it's bigger."India is Atlanta-based Coca-Cola's fifth largest market by volume. Globally and well as in India, shifting consumer tastes are prompting beverage companies, including Coca-Cola and Pepsi , to find ways to diversify from traditional soda and high-calorie juices to low calories versions.
