ATLANTA: Beverages giant Coca-Cola is restructuring its senior marketing team in a move that will see the departure of Global CMO Marcos de Quinto, who has been responsible for the company's "One Brand" strategy.
As of May 1, when President and COO James Quincey becomes Chief Executive Officer, the post of Global CMO will be abolished and instead merged with customer and commercial leadership, as well as strategy, into one role.
The combined functions will report to a new Chief Growth Officer, who will be responsible for driving growth across five strategic beverage categories, the company announced in a statement.
Coca-Cola said this new role will be filled by Francisco Crespo, a 28-year company veteran who is currently President of the Mexico business unit.
Crespo will lead Coca-Cola's global marketing, corporate strategy, and customer and commercial leadership teams to "create a consolidated team with a clear mandate for driving growth".
Julie Hamilton, Chief Customer and Commercial Leadership Officer, and the corporate strategy and planning and global marketing leadership teams will report to Crespo.
Meanwhile, Coca-Cola said Robert Long, currently VP of Research and Development, will become its new Chief Innovation Officer and he will report directly to the CEO.
"This move is indicative of Coca-Cola's increased focus on accelerating the growth of its consumer-centric brand portfolio," the statement read.
In addition, Barry Simpson will remain as SVP and Chief Innovation Officer, but the role will become more important because he too will report directly to the CEO as Coca-Cola seeks to digitise all aspects of its business.
Three other significant changes include Chief Financial Officer Kathy Walker assuming greater responsibility for strategic governance; Jennifer Mann becoming Chief People Officer; and Bea Perez taking on the role of Chief Public Affairs, Communications and Sustainability Officer.
Commenting on the changes, James Quincey said: "Today's organisational announcement is another building block in our company's transformational journey.
"We are moving quickly to structure our organisation for faster growth and to ensure we can respond to the fast-changing needs of our consumers, customers, system and associates around the world."
As of May 1, when President and COO James Quincey becomes Chief Executive Officer, the post of Global CMO will be abolished and instead merged with customer and commercial leadership, as well as strategy, into one role.
The combined functions will report to a new Chief Growth Officer, who will be responsible for driving growth across five strategic beverage categories, the company announced in a statement.
Coca-Cola said this new role will be filled by Francisco Crespo, a 28-year company veteran who is currently President of the Mexico business unit.
Crespo will lead Coca-Cola's global marketing, corporate strategy, and customer and commercial leadership teams to "create a consolidated team with a clear mandate for driving growth".
Julie Hamilton, Chief Customer and Commercial Leadership Officer, and the corporate strategy and planning and global marketing leadership teams will report to Crespo.
Meanwhile, Coca-Cola said Robert Long, currently VP of Research and Development, will become its new Chief Innovation Officer and he will report directly to the CEO.
"This move is indicative of Coca-Cola's increased focus on accelerating the growth of its consumer-centric brand portfolio," the statement read.
In addition, Barry Simpson will remain as SVP and Chief Innovation Officer, but the role will become more important because he too will report directly to the CEO as Coca-Cola seeks to digitise all aspects of its business.
Three other significant changes include Chief Financial Officer Kathy Walker assuming greater responsibility for strategic governance; Jennifer Mann becoming Chief People Officer; and Bea Perez taking on the role of Chief Public Affairs, Communications and Sustainability Officer.
Commenting on the changes, James Quincey said: "Today's organisational announcement is another building block in our company's transformational journey.
"We are moving quickly to structure our organisation for faster growth and to ensure we can respond to the fast-changing needs of our consumers, customers, system and associates around the world."
Data sourced from Coca-Cola; additional content by Warc staff
