NEW YORK: Coca-Cola Co says chief executive officer (CEO) James Quincey is stepping down and will be replaced at the end of March by Henrique Braun, the company’s chief operating officer (COO).
Quincey, who is 60 and has been CEO for nine years, will transition to executive chairman, according to the company. He is currently chairman of the company’s board.
Coca-Cola shares were little changed in extended trading in New York following the announcement.
Quincey assumed the CEO role on May 1, 2017, and helped to pull the company out of a multiyear sales slump. Under his management, Coca-Cola shares rose more than 60%, while the S&P 500 Index gained nearly 190% over the same period.
“I will focus on continuing the momentum we’ve built with our system,” Braun said in a statement. “We’ll work to unlock future growth in partnership with our bottlers.”
Braun, who is 57, joined Coca-Cola in Atlanta in 1996 and spent years working in North America, Europe, Latin America and Asia, the company said.
He served as president of Coca-Cola’s international development before becoming COO, where he oversaw all of the company’s operating units worldwide, at the start of this year. — Bloomberg
