The Coca-Cola Company has announced a series of leadership changes aimed at bringing the business “closer to consumers” while accelerating technology adoption across the enterprise, as it prepares for Henrique Braun to take over as chief executive.
The company said all appointments will take effect from 31 March 2026. As previously announced on 11 December 2025, Braun, currently executive vice president and chief operating officer, will become CEO on that date, succeeding James Quincey, who will continue as executive chairman of the board.
“We believe our ongoing growth depends on understanding consumers even more deeply,” Braun said. “We are evolving our operating organisation structure and elevating digital leadership so we can move faster and work smarter across all markets.”
New chief digital officer role created
Central to the shake-up is the creation of a new chief digital officer (CDO) role, designed to unify digital, data and operational excellence functions across the global drinks group.
Sedef Salingan Sahin, currently president of Coca-Cola’s Eurasia and Middle East operating unit, has been appointed to the new role and will report directly to Braun. Coca-Cola said Sahin will lead the next phase of the company’s digital transformation, integrating its digital network and connecting work across related functions.
“The chief digital officer position is a pivotal new role for our future,” Braun said.
“Sedef’s proven leadership will help shape how we digitalise the enterprise end-to-end, and 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.”
Digital strategy responsibilities, currently overseen by CFO John Murphy, will transition to Sahin.
Sahin joined Coca-Cola in 2003 and has held a number of senior positions across categories and regions. The company highlighted her work leading digitisation efforts in both marketing and operational roles.
Customer and commercial remit shifts to marketing chief
Coca-Cola also said responsibility for customer and commercial leadership will transfer from John Murphy, president and chief financial officer, to Manolo Arroyo, currently executive vice president and chief marketing officer.
Arroyo will take the expanded title of executive vice president and chief marketing and customer commercial officer, combining marketing leadership with commercial responsibilities.
Murphy will remain CFO and will continue to oversee a wide range of central functions, including corporate development, investor relations, treasury, tax, audit, accounting and controls, performance management and enterprise services, including real estate.
New market groupings to focus on growth regions
In a further operational change, Coca-Cola is creating two new market groupings that will report into Braun, aimed at sharpening focus on markets across Asia, Africa and the Middle East.
Under the new structure:
- Sanket Ray will oversee markets in India, Southwest Asia, Greater China and Mongolia, and Japan and South Korea as president, India and Southwest Asia operating unit and Emerging Large Markets Lead. Ray will continue in his existing role leading the INSWA operating unit.
- Claudia Lorenzo will oversee Eurasia and Middle East, ASEAN and South Pacific, and Africa markets as president, Eurasia and Middle East operating unit and Emerging Multi-Markets Lead, while also serving aspPresident of the EME operating unit. Lorenzo is currently chief of staff to chairman and CEO James Quincey and previously led the ASEAN and South Pacific unit.
Braun said the shift is designed to help Coca-Cola respond to “dynamic conditions” in global markets and better capture growth opportunities across key emerging regions.
“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,” he added.
New chief of staff for Braun
The company also announced Robin Halpern, currently vice president and head of investor relations, as Braun’s incoming chief of staff, supporting the leadership transition ahead of March.
Coca-Cola said the changes are designed to improve speed, execution and consumer relevance while positioning the business for its next phase of growth under Braun’s leadership.