Coca-Cola Company: Murphy succeeds Smith as President
- John Murphy to Become President and CFO of Coca-Cola Company
- Brian Smith to Retire as President and COO
Coca-Cola Company recently announced that John Murphy would occupy the positions of President and Chief Financial Officer beginning October 1. Murphy, who currently serves as Executive Vice President and CFO, will assume the role of President upon Brian Smith’s retirement.
Smith, 66, has served as President and Chief Operating Officer since 2019. He will remain with the company as a senior executive through February 2023.
“Brian has made innumerable contributions to the Coca-Cola system during his 25 years with the company,” said James Quincey, Chairman, and CEO of The Coca-Cola Company. “I thank him for his service and, on behalf of the company, wish him all the best.”
Murphy, 60, has served as CFO since 2019. He oversees Mergers & Acquisitions, Investor Relations, Global Strategy, Tax, Treasury, Audit, Accounting and Controls, Reporting and Analysis, Real Estate, and Risk Management. As president and CFO, he will take on expanded duties, including oversight of Global Ventures; Platform Services; online-to-offline (O2O) digital transformation; and customer and commercial leadership.
Brian Smith became president and COO in 2019, following two years as President of the company’s former Europe, Middle East, and Africa Group. He had responsibility for the operations of six business units spanning from Western Europe to Russia and Southern Africa.
Prior to that role, Smith was group president of Latin America from 2013 to 2016. His key areas of focus included the development and effective deployment of talent, along with building Coca-Cola leadership in still beverage categories via new, aligned system business models and bolt-on acquisitions in juices, teas, and dairy.
Smith joined Coca-Cola in 1997 as Latin America group manager for mergers and acquisitions. He was responsible for bottler and brand transactions and helped formulate and execute system franchise strategies.
From 2001 to 2002, he worked as an executive assistant to the company’s chief operating officer and vice chairman. From 2002 to 2008, he was president of the Brazil division, and from 2008 to 2012, he served as president of the Mexico division.
The organisation is assessing its future plans for the position of Chief Operating Officer. The presidents of the company’s operating units will report to Quincey on an interim basis.
“John has been a vital business partner and leader at the company,” Quincey said. “As president and CFO, John’s new role will be instrumental in driving critical, enterprise-wide imperatives across the Coca-Cola system.”
As CFO, Murphy is responsible for leading the company’s global finance organisation and representing the company to multiple stakeholders, including investors, lenders, and rating agencies.
From 2016 to 2018, Murphy served as president of the company’s former Asia Pacific group. He was also responsible for the company’s Bottling Investments Group, primarily focused on key markets in Southeast and Southwest Asia.
From 2013 to 2016, Murphy served as president of the South Latin business unit, where he handled operations in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay. From 2008 to 2012, he was president of the Latin Center business unit, responsible for operations in 31 countries in Central America, the Caribbean, and the Andean Region.
He began his career at Coca-Cola in 1988 as an international internal auditor and, in 1991, moved to Coca-Cola Japan as executive assistant to the CFO. He went on to serve with expanded responsibilities in various finance, planning, and operations roles at Coca-Cola Japan. Subsequently, He worked for the Coca-Cola bottling partner in Singapore, F & N Coca-Cola Ltd.
Murphy re-joined Coca-Cola in 1996 as the regional manager for Indonesia. In 2000, he served as vice president of Business Systems for Coca-Cola North America before returning to Japan as executive vice president and chief financial officer for Coca-Cola. In 2004, he was promoted to vice president of Coca-Cola Japan before returning to Atlanta in 2005 as vice president of strategic planning for Coca-Cola. He held this position until 2008 when he was appointed president of the Latin Center business unit.
Prior to joining Coca-Cola, Murphy worked as an auditor for Price Waterhouse in Dublin for four years.