Coca-Cola India head Kini quits, Krishnakumar to replace him

Beverages giant Coca-Cola Company today said its President for India and Southwest Asia Business Unit Venkatesh Kini has quit after leading the operations for over three years and T Krishnakumar will replace him.
Kini, who has chosen to return to the US to pursue other opportunities outside the Coca-Cola system, will remain with the company till July-end to ensure a smooth transition for his successor, Coca-Cola Company said in a statement.
He had worked with the company for 19 years.
Krishnakumar is currently CEO and South West Asia Regional Director of Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages (HCCB), the bottling arm of the company.

Subsequently, Vamsi Mohan, Region Director for Vietnam, Myanmar and Cambodia of Bottling Investments Group (BIG), will replace Krishnakumar as South West Asia Regional Director for Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages, it added.
The company further said Christina Ruggiero will be the new CEO of Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages Pvt Ltd. She will report to Mohan.

She is currently chief procurement officer for the Coca- Cola System in North America, and president and CEO for Bottlers' Sales & Services LLC.
The appointments in senior leadership in the Indian and South West Asia Business Unit of Coca-Cola and Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages will take effect from May 1, the statement added.

On the changes, Coca-Cola President Asia Pacific Group John Murphy said the firm is designing a new operating model to support its next stage of transformation.
"Key components of this new operating model are a revitalised organisational capability and better system alignment to ensure optimum execution multiplies our marketing plans and investment," he added.
Similarly, BIG President Irial Finan said: "...We believe that the revitalised system leadership structure that we announce today will enable us to continue consolidating India as one of the most important growth engines for The Coca-Cola Company globally."
He said India is the sixth-largest market for Coca-Cola in terms of volume and still has tremendous growth potential.

The company and its partners operate nearly 60 factories in India employing 25,000 people directly and its products are sold through over 2.6 million retailers.