Coca-Cola announces change of CEO

Coca-Cola CEO James Quincey will step down in March 2026 and be replaced by the company's chief operating officer Enrique Brown, according to a press release company.

Quincey, 60, has been CEO of Coca-Cola since 2017, and in 2019 he also became chairman of the board of directors. After his resignation, he will become executive chairman.

The company emphasized that it considers the period of his leadership to be extremely successful.

Under his leadership, the company's portfolio was expanded with new brands, and Coca-Cola itself successfully overcame the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Financial Times indicates the company's share price increased by 62% during Quincy's eight years in charge.

Since then, Coca-Cola has made a number of high-profile deals: it bought the sports drinks manufacturer Bodyarmor for $5.6 billion in 2021, dairy producer Fairlife for $1 billion in 2020, and British coffee chain Costa for $5.1 billion in 2018.

The next CEO of Coca-Cola has almost 30 years of experience in the company. He started working in 1996 and since then has held senior positions in various regions of the world. In particular, he managed the company's business in Brazil (2016-2020), Latin America (2020-2022), and the China-South Korea region (2013-2016).

Since the beginning of 2025, Brown has served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, responsible for all the company's operating units worldwide.