BS People: Debabrata Mukherjee

Trickling home

It is a homecoming for 40-year-old Debabrata (Debu) Mukherjee, who returns to India as vice-president-designate at Coca-Cola after three years at the beverage giant's Korean unit. His over 16 years’ experience in marketing and sales should come in handy, say peers, when Mukherjee takes charge of the key portfolios of strategy and innovations in India.

Coca-Cola India is on a roll. The local subsidiary registered its 17th consecutive quarter of volume growth, despite heavy rainfall in many parts of the country. In the first two quarters of this calendar year, Coca-Cola India reported volume growth of 29 per cent and 22 per cent, respectively.

So, Mukherjee has much to do to ensure this growth momentum stays intact, according to company insiders. Coca-Cola is also increasingly banking on its non-carbonated or still beverages to push growth. Though emerging economies like India and China remain large markets for carbonated beverages, consumers in urban pockets are increasingly turning to healthier options, say experts.

Mukherjee, an alumnus of Presidency College, Kolkata, and an MBA from Calcutta University, has spent close to 12 years at Coca-Cola, beginning as a sales manager at the Indian unit before moving up the ranks to become director, marketing. He moved to South Korea in 2007 in his first international assignment. So, while Coca-Cola may be exporting Indian talent to overseas operations, it is also bringing some back to leverage their global experience in the demanding domestic market.