18th December, 2003
THE COCA-COLA COMPANY ANNOUNCES CHANGES IN LEADERSHIP OF NORTH AMERICA OPERATING UNIT
THE COCA-COLA COMPANY ANNOUNCES CHANGES IN LEADERSHIP OF NORTH AMERICA OPERATING UNIT
Atlanta,
December
18, 2003 -
The Coca-Cola Company today issued the following internal announcements from Doug Daft, chairman and chief executive officer, and Steve Heyer, president and chief operating officer:
North America Business Unit Leadership
To: All Employees Worldwide
From: Doug Daft
We have worked diligently over the course of 2003 to integrate the North America Business Unit. Our Foodservice, Bottle and Can and Minute Maid businesses have been reengineered into an integrated operating model. We also combined several North America and Corporate support functions to better align our resources. Thanks to all involved for your hard work on these important efforts.
Jeff Dunn has very effectively led these efforts. The task has been arduous, but critical. Having helped set us on this new course for success, Jeff has decided this is the time to pursue his own entrepreneurial goals outside The Coca-Cola Company.
I want to thank Jeff for his 22 years of meaningful contribution to The Coca-Cola Company. He has always shown tremendous dedication and commitment to our business, and helped us build strong brands and strong teams. Please join me in wishing Jeff and his family well as they enter this next phase of their lives and take on new and exciting challenges.
Given the importance of the North America business, I have asked Steve Heyer to assume direct leadership of Coca-Cola North America. Steve will oversee strategic direction of that unit's operating performance through 2004. Our clear objective is to build on the work accomplished this year and deliver a strong 2004 plan.
Steve will communicate separately changes in the reporting structure for the North America leadership team.
North America Reporting Structure
To: All Employees Worldwide
From: Steve Heyer
Following Doug Daft's announcement of the change in leadership at Coca-Cola North America, I am pleased to announce a new reporting structure for the unit's operations. With these changes, we have an opportunity to strengthen the integration of our North America and Corporate teams, helping all of us become more focused on serving our customers, our bottler partners and our consumers, and on creating more value for our system.
Effective immediately, Don Knauss, president of Retail Division, Chris Lowe, president of Foodservice and Hospitality, Javier Benito, chief marketing officer for North America, and Melody Justice, senior vice president of Strategy and Planning will report directly to me. Gray Lindsey, chief financial officer for North America will report to Gary Fayard, chief financial officer for the Company. Carolyn Jackson, vice president, Human Resources for North America will report to Coretha Rushing, senior vice president, Human Resources for the Company. M. Bronwyn Jones, senior vice president, Innovation and Development will report to Danny Strickland, corporate chief innovation officer. Rudy Beserra, vice president, Latin Affairs will report to Clyde Tuggle, senior vice president, Worldwide Public Affairs and Communications.
I look forward to becoming even more closely involved with the great team we have in Coca-Cola North America. I know we will learn from each other as we work together to meet our goals and objectives for 2004 with the dedication and commitment that are hallmarks of the Coca-Cola system. Thank you in advance for your support.
The Coca-Cola Company is the world's largest beverage company. Along with Coca-Cola, recognized as the world's best-known brand, the Company markets four of the world's top five soft drink brands, including diet Coke, Fanta and Sprite, and a wide range of other beverages, including diet and light soft drinks, waters, juices and juice drinks, teas, coffees and sports drinks. Through the world's largest distribution system, consumers in more than 200 countries enjoy the Company's beverages at a rate exceeding 1 billion servings each day.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release may contain statements, estimates or projections that constitute "forward-looking statements" as defined under U.S. federal securities laws. Generally, the words "believe," "expect," "intend," "estimate," "anticipate," "project," "will" and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements, which generally are not historical in nature. Forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from The Coca-Cola Company's historical experience and our present expectations or projections. These risks include, but are not limited to, changes in economic and political conditions; changes in the nonalcoholic beverages business environment, including actions of competitors and changes in consumer preferences; product boycotts; foreign currency and interest rate fluctuations; adverse weather conditions; the effectiveness of our advertising and marketing programs; fluctuations in the cost and availability of raw materials; our ability to achieve earnings forecasts; regulatory and legal changes; our ability to penetrate developing and emerging markets; litigation uncertainties; and other risks discussed in our Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), including our Annual Report on Form 10-K, which filings are available from the SEC. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made. The Coca-Cola Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements.
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