Coca-Cola CFO to take on additional role as president

Dive Brief:

John Murphy, CFO for the Coca-Cola Company, will also serve in the capacity of president following the retirement of current President Brian Smith, the company announced Thursday.
Murphy, who has acted as CFO and executive vice president for the company since 2019, will take on the president role Oct. 1, according to a company filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Smith will retire Sept. 30, and will stay on as a senior executive until February 2023, according to the filing. Smith has served in a dual capacity as president and chief operating officer (COO) since 2019.

Dive Insight:

Murphy has held various executive positions during his 10-year tenure at Coca-Cola, having previously served as president for its South Latin Business Unit between January 2013 and July 2016 prior to moving to the CFO position. He also acted as president, Latin Center for a four-year period, according to his LinkedIn.

Murphy’s base salary will be $1.025 million, according to the company filing, with the firm adjusting his annual target incentive to 150% of his base salary.

“John has been a vital business partner and leader at the company,” Chairman and CEO James Quincey said in Thursday’s release. “As president and CFO, John’s new role will be instrumental in driving critical, enterprise-wide imperatives across the Coca-Cola system.”

A 25-year alum of the company, Smith originally joined Coca-Cola as Latin America group manager in 1997, according to his biography on the company website. Smith previously acted as president for Coca-Cola’s Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) division from 2016 to 2018, as well as serving as president for Latin America between 2013 and 2016.

His base salary and annual target incentive will remain the same up to his September retirement date, according to the company filing. Coca-Cola is still evaluating its plans for its future COO, according to its Thursday press release. Operating unit heads will report to CEO Quincey in the interim.

The firm is set to report its Q2 earnings July 26, following positive first quarter results despite its suspension of operations in Russia following the start of the war with Ukraine, which Coca-Cola warned would have a material effect on its 2022 earnings per an April report by the Wall Street Journal.

Net revenues expanded 16% to $10.5 billion, while unit case volume growth jumped 8%. Financial analysis company Trefis estimates Coca-Cola’s second quarter results will pull slightly ahead of expectations, with adjusted earnings per share to reach $0.69 above consensus estimates of $0.67.

The company declined to comment past details included in its Thursday press release at this time.