GREECE – Coca Cola HBC has announced the death of its CEO, Dimitri Lois just weeks after announcing that he was talking leave of absence for treatment of a medical condition.
“We are deeply saddened by the news of Dimitris’s death. It was a great privilege to know him personally and to work alongside him for so many years,” said Anastassis David, chairman of Coca-Cola HBC in a statement.
Dimitris Lois passed away after he said he was expected to be away for four months and would remain uninvolved in the business.
Mr. Lois held a B.Sc. in Chemical Engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology and M.Sc. degree in Chemical Engineering from North Eastern University.
He joined the company in 2007, where he was appointed chief operating officer in 2009 before moving to the role of chief executive officer two years later.
He served as an Executive Director of Coca-Cola HBC AG, where he had previously served as a Director until April 2013.
He also served as Director of Beta Glass Co. plc and an Executive Director of Frigoglass SAIC until June 2007.
Lois was a Director of Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company S.A. until April 2013.
Michalis Imellos, who had been the firm’s finance director, will take up the role as acting chief executive until a permanent successor for the position is found.
The company, which bottles around 50 billion drinks each year for the Coca-Cola Company, had recorded a 2% decrease in shares to US$25.49 on the morning Lois’s death was announced.
In the FTSE 100 firm’s last financial update in August, it had increased its revenue by 5.6pc in the half-year, which amounted to US$3.77 billion, thanks to the increased number of bottles it had produced.
