Sunil Gupta has been promoted to the position of chief executive officer for Coca-Cola Beverages Africa (CCBA), effective from April 1. Gupta succeeds Jacques Vermeulen, who will retire after 28 years of service with the Coca-Cola system.
CCBA has appointed Gupta, currently chief financial officer for The Coca-Cola Company’s Bottling Investments Group (BIG). CCBA is the 8th largest Coca-Cola bottling partner in the world by revenue, and the largest on the continent. It accounts for over 40 per cent of all Coca-Cola products sold in Africa by volume. With over 18,000 employees in Africa, CCBA services more than 680,000 customers with a host of international and local brands. 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.
Gupta’s career includes 25 years in the Coca-Cola system, with extensive operating experience in business and finance, having worked closely with commercial, supply chain, IT, human resources, and other functions. He has served as CFO of BIG since 2018 and helped transform and turnaround its business. Prior to his current role with BIG based in Singapore, Gupta has been successful in complex operating roles with former Coca-Cola FEMSA operations in Philippines and the company-owned bottler in India. Before joining the Coca-Cola system in 1999, Gupta held roles with Bank of America NT&SA in Mumbai, India; Casio India Limited in New Delhi, India; and Ernst & Young International in New Delhi, India.
Gupta holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Delhi and is a qualified Chartered Accountant. He has completed executive programmes at INSEAD Business School in Singapore and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.
Gupta 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 favourable.
Norton Kingwill, chief financial officer of CCBA, will be acting CEO during the transition period before Gupta joins CCBA.
“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. We congratulate Jacques on an outstanding career within CCBA and wish him and his family much success, good health and happiness in the future.”
“It has been a privilege leading CCBA the past five years,” Jacques said. “I commend the CCBA teams for their dedication and resilience in growing a sustainable business, anchored in CCBA’s strong values, while proving commitment to the transformational projects underway, despite the headwinds faced in-market. I thank all employees, customers, partners and stakeholders for the collaboration, trust and joint successes. I’m confident the successful journey of CCBA will continue for many years to come.”
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