AFRICA – Coca-Cola Beverages Africa (CCBA), the largest Coca-Cola bottling partner in Africa, has appointed Sunil Gupta to succeed Jacques Vermeulen as CEO, effective 1 April 2024.
In a statement, CCBA which is also the 8th largest Coca-Cola bottling partner in the world by revenue, said that Mr. Varmeulen will be retiring after 28 years of service with the Coca-Cola system.
“On behalf of the CCBA board, I want to recognise and thank Jacques for his many contributions to CCBA over the past 28 years,” said Bruno Pietracci, Chairman of the Board, CCBA.
“He guided CCBA through a global pandemic, a strong recovery and laid the foundations for continued superior growth. Under his leadership, CCBA came together as ONE CCBA, and he set CCBA on the path for a major transformation.
His successor Sunil currently serves as the chief financial officer for The Coca-Cola Company’s Bottling Investments Group (BIG), a position he has held since 2018.
Sunil’s career includes 25 years in the Coca-Cola system, with extensive operating experience in business and finance.
Prior to his current role with BIG based in Singapore, Sunil, a qualified Chartered Accountant, has been successful in complex operating roles with former Coca-Cola FEMSA operations in the Philippines and the company-owned bottler in India.
CCBA Chief Finance Officer Norton Kingwill will be acting CEO during the transition period before Sunil joins CCBA.
As the largest bottler in Africa, CCBA employs about 18,000 people and accounts for over 40% of all Coca-Cola products sold in Africa by volume.
The group was formed in July 2016 after the successful combination of the southern and east Africa bottling operations of the non-alcoholic ready-to-drink beverages businesses of The Coca-Cola Company, SABMiller plc, and Gutsche Family Investments.
The Coca-Cola Company owns a majority stake in the business (66.5%) while the Gutsche Family Investments controls the remaining 33.5%.
CCBA operates in 15 countries, including its six key markets of South Africa, Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, Mozambique and Namibia.
Other markets where CCBA has a presence include Tanzania, Botswana, Ghana, Zambia, the islands of Comoros and Mayotte, Eswatini, Lesotho, and Malawi.
CCBA says Sunil will play a critical role in The Coca-Cola Company’s continued commitment to successfully list CCBA as a public company via an initial public offering (IPO) once market conditions become more favorable.
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