Coke rejig: Venkatesh Kini bids adieu; T Krishnakumar to replace him

Venkatesh Kini, who has been serving as President - India and Southwest Asia Business Unit at the Coca-Cola Company, has put in his papers after a stint of 19 years with the company. He will be returning to the United States to pursue other opportunities outside the Coca-Cola system. Kini will remain with the company until the end of July to ensure a smooth transition with his successor. 

Commenting on the development, John Murphy, President of the Asia Pacific Group, The Coca-Cola Company, said, “Over the past four years, Venkatesh has had a significant impact on the growth and success of our business in this very important market, and laid the foundation for a winning team that will enable us to continue capturing the great opportunities that remain ahead.” 

Taking over from Kini as President of the Company’s India and South West Asia Business Unit will be T ‘KK’ Krishnakumar, who currently serves as CEO and South West Asia Regional Director of Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages. On Krishnakumar’s elevation, Murphy said, “KK is uniquely qualified for this role, having successfully led Coca-Cola Company and its Bottling Investments Group’s (BIG) operations in India and South West Asia since 2009. He is a strategic, well-rounded leader, and has been a catalyst for expanding our portfolio and driving growth in every position he has previously held.” 

Krishnakumar had joined the Coca-Cola system in 2004, and has advanced through a series of leadership roles, including Region Manager and Regional Vice President. 

Vamsi Mohan, who currently serves as BIG’s Regional Director for Vietnam, Myanmar and Cambodia, will in turn replace Krishnakumar as South West Asia Regional Director for Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages. 

BIG’s President, Irial Finan, said, “Vamsi joined the Coca-Cola system in 1998 and has held various senior leadership roles in Operations, Market Execution, General Management and also served as Vice President – Sales for Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages. We’re fortunate and very glad to have him back in this market.” 

Christina Ruggiero, currently Chief Procurement Officer for the Coca-Cola System in North America, and President and CEO for Bottlers’ Sales & Services, LLC, will be reporting to Vamsi Mohan as the new CEO of Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages. “Christina’s extensive experience aggregating and optimising supplier and customer-related activities for the US bottling franchise network will be instrumental in leading this next chapter for our bottling operations in India,” added Finan. Prior to joining Coca-Cola, Ruggiero was Vice President, Procurement, for Diageo Plc, where she led procurement and supply chain teams globally, including teams in the United States, Africa, Europe, and Russia. 

“As outlined by our President and Chief Operating Officer James Quincey a few weeks ago, The Coca-Cola Company is designing a new Operating Model to support the next stage of our transformation into a growth-oriented, consumer-centered, total beverage company,” said John Murphy, “Key components of this new Operating Model are a revitalised organisational capability and better system alignment to ensure that optimum execution multiplies our marketing plans and investment.” 

Irial Finan added here, “India is the 6th largest market for The Coca-Cola Company in terms of volume. The Coca-Cola system operates approximately 60 factories, directly employs 25,000 people and sells our products through over 2.6 million retailers. Still, the Indian market has tremendous growth potential, and we believe the revitalised system leadership structure that we have announced will enable us to continue consolidating India as one of the most important growth engines for The Coca-Cola Company globally.”