The Coca-Cola Company has created a new executive role to oversee the company’s digital strategy.
The move is part of a series of management changes announced in the run-up to COO Henrique Braun taking the helm at the US drinks behemoth in March.
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Sedef Saligan Sahin has been named chief digital officer, a new position to “unify digital, data and operational excellence across the company”, the Fanta and Sprite owner said in a statement.
In the position, Sahin, currently the president of Coca-Cola’s business in Eurasia and the Middle East. will also be “integrating the company’s digital network and connecting work across related functions”.
“The chief digital officer position is a pivotal new role for our future,” Braun said. “Over the next several months she will assess how to organise the teams responsible for digital across the enterprise to help strengthen execution, simplify how we work and enable us to deliver for consumers with greater precision and speed.”
Sahin joined Coca-Cola in 2003 and worked as marketing president for the group’s nutrition, juice, dairy and plant business.
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By GlobalDataUp until now, Coca-Cola president and CFO John Murphy has overseen the company’s digital strategy work.
Meanwhile, Manolo Arroyo, an executive vice president at Coca-Cola and its chief marketing officer has been handed the roles of executive vice president and chief marketing and customer commercial officer.
Coca-Cola has also created “two new market groupings”, that will report into Braun to help the business sharpen its focus in Asia, Africa and the Middle East.
Sanket Ray, president of the India Southwest Asia operating unit at Coca-Cola will now see “emerging markets lead” added to his title. In this role he oversees markets in India Southwest Asia, Greater China and Mongolia, Japana and South Korea.
Claudia Lorenzo, the chief of staff to present CEO James Quincey, has also been appointed president of the Fuze tea maker’s Eurasia and Middle East operating unit and emerging multi-markets lead,. She will oversee Coca-Cola’s Middle East, Eurasia, Association of Southeast Asian Nations and Africa regions.
All the leadership changes are coming into effect on 31 March.
“These changes are intended to help equip our organisation to handle the dynamic conditions we are seeing in markets around the world,” Braun said.
“Sanket and Claudia bring deep regional experience and established leadership, which will be critical as we seek to tap into the immense growth potential, we see across the markets they will lead.”
Robin Halpern, vice president and head of investor relations, will take over from Lorenzo as chief of staff to Braun.
