Irishman John Murphy has been appointed president and chief financial officer of the Coca-Cola Company, one of the world's largest soft drinks makers with annual revenues of close to $40bn.
Murphy, who currently serves as executive vice president and CFO, will add the president role, effective 1 October, following the retirement of Brian Smith, who will remain with the company as a senior executive until February 2023.
Murphy, 60, has served as CFO since 2019 and oversees M&A, investor relations, global strategy, tax, treasury, audit, accounting, controls, reporting and analysis, real estate and risk management.
As president and CFO his duties at Coca-Cola maker will expand to include oversight of global ventures; platform services; offline-to-offline digital transformation; and customer and commercial leadership.
"John has been a vital business partner and leader at the company,” said James Quincey, chairman and CEO of Coca-Cola. “As president and CFO, John’s new role will be instrumental in driving critical, enterprise-wide imperatives across the Coca-Cola system.”
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Prior to becoming CFO, he served as president of the company's former Asia Pacific Group from 2016 to 2018, and he was also responsible for the company’s Bottling Investments Group, primarily focused on key markets in south-east and south-west Asia.
Murphy spent four years as an auditor for PwC in Dublin before joining Coca-Cola in 1988 as an international auditor, and then moving to Coca-Cola Japan as an executive assistant to the CFO in 1991.
He went on to serve in expanded responsibilities in various finance, planning and operations roles at Coca-Cola Japan and subsequently worked for the Coca-Cola bottling partner in Singapore, F&N Coca-Cola Ltd.
In 1996, he returned to Coca-Cola as region manager in Indonesia before becoming vice president of business systems at Coca-Cola North America, and then returning to Coca-Cola Japan as executive vice president and CFO.
In 2004, he was promoted to deputy president of Coca-Cola Japan before returning to Atlanta in 2005 as vice president of strategic planning for Coca-Cola, a position he held until he became president of the Latin Center business unit in 2008, overseeing operations in 31 countries in Central America, the Caribbean and the Andean Region.
From 2013 to 2016, he was president of Coca-Cola's South Latin business unit with responsibility for operations in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay.
Commenting on Smith's retirement, Quincey said: "Brian has made innumerable contributions to the Coca-Cola system during his 25 years with the company. I thank him for his service and, on behalf of the company, wish him all the best.”
Smith joined Coca-Cola in 1997 as Latin America group manager for M&A, going onto serve as president of the company's divisions in Brazil, Mexico and then Latin America, and finally EMEA before being named president and CEOO in 2019.
The company is evaluating its future plans for the chief operating officer role. The company’s operating unit presidents will report to Quincey on an interim basis.
Coca-Cola employs more than 700,000 people and sells products in over 200 countries and territories. Its soft drinks brands include Coca-Cola, Sprite and Fanta, and beverages such as Powerade and Innocent also fall under its umbrella.
Photo: John Murphy.
