Sandy Douglas Elevated to EVP of The Coca-Cola Company

S._Douglas_headshot
Sandy Douglas

ATLANTA–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The Board of Directors of The Coca-Cola Company today promoted J. Alexander “Sandy” Douglas Jr., currently Senior Vice President and President, Coca-Cola North America to Executive Vice President, and promoted Dr. Ed Hays, currently Vice President and Chief Technical Officer to Senior Vice President. Additionally, it elected two new Vice Presidents – Julie Hamilton, Chief Customer and Commercial Leadership Officer; and Kelly Johnstone, Global Operations Director, Strategic Security. Each of the appointments is effective immediately.

Douglas, 53, has served as Senior Vice President and President of Coca-Cola North America since Jan. 1, 2014. He joined the Company in 1988 as a District Sales Manager for the Foodservice Division of Coca-Cola USA. He has held a number of senior leadership positions within Coca-Cola including leading the North American Field Sales and Marketing Groups, the North American Retail Division and most recently as the Company’s Global Chief Customer Officer. A 1984 graduate of the University of Virginia, Douglas began his career at the Procter & Gamble Company working in a variety of sales and management roles before joining Coca-Cola.

Hays, 56, became Coca-Cola’s Chief Technical Officer, effective March 1, after previously serving as Vice President, Global Science, Regulatory and Formula Governance. Hays joined The Coca-Cola Company in 1985 as a scientist in Corporate R&D and has held positions of increasing responsibility throughout his career, including Director, Product Development in Corporate R&D, Director, R&D, for the Middle East and Far East Group and Director, Corporate R&D. He was elected a Company Vice President in 2000 and in 2001 began leading the Company’s Science Function. Hays holds B.S.A., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Food Science from the University of Georgia.

Hamilton, 49, became Chief Customer and Commercial Leadership Officer, effective April 1, after serving for four years as Executive Assistant to Chairman and CEO Muhtar Kent. She joined The Coca-Cola Company in 1996 and has held a variety of sales, marketing and operational positions including President of the Global Wal-Mart Group, Group Vice President North America Wal-Mart Team, Vice President, Global Customer Development, Group Director for Global On-Premise Customers and Director of Franchise Sales & Marketing – Northwest U.S. Region. Hamilton studied at London’s Imperial College of Science and Economics and has a bachelor’s degree in journalism and marketing from the University of Missouri.

Johnstone, 54, has been named Vice President, Strategic Security, effective May 1, succeeding Jim Hush who is retiring from this position after 23 years with the Company. An experienced security leader with more than 30 years of experience, Johnstone joined The Coca-Cola Company in 2000 as a senior security manager. She has held positions of increasing responsibility throughout her Coca-Cola career including serving as Executive Assistant to the Company’s Chief Administrative Officer, Alex Cummings. Prior to joining Coca-Cola, Johnstone served in a variety of federal law enforcement roles including with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the U.S. Customs Service and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service. She is a graduate of the University of Florida and the Harvard Business School, Graduate Management Program.

The Board today also declared a regular quarterly dividend of 33 cents per common share. The dividend is payable July 1, 2015 to shareowners of record as of June 15, 2015.

The Board earlier this year approved the Company’s 53rd consecutive annual dividend increase, raising the quarterly dividend 8 percent from 30.5 cents to 33 cents per common share. This is equivalent to an annual dividend of $1.32 per share, up from $1.22 per share in 2014. The increase reflects the Board’s confidence in the Company’s long-term cash flow.

About The Coca-Cola Company

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) is the world’s largest beverage company, refreshing consumers with more than 500 sparkling and still brands. Led by Coca-Cola, one of the world’s most valuable and recognizable brands, our Company’s portfolio features 20 billion-dollar brands including Diet Coke, Fanta, Sprite, Coca-Cola Zero, vitaminwater, Powerade, Minute Maid, Simply, Georgia and Del Valle. Globally, we are the No. 1 provider of sparkling beverages, ready-to-drink coffees, and juices and juice drinks. Through the world’s largest beverage distribution system, consumers in more than 200 countries enjoy our beverages at a rate of 1.9 billion servings a day. With an enduring commitment to building sustainable communities, our Company is focused on initiatives that reduce our environmental footprint, support active, healthy living, create a safe, inclusive work environment for our associates, and enhance the economic development of the communities where we operate. Together with our bottling partners, we rank among the world’s top 10 private employers with more than 700,000 system associates. For more information, visit Coca-Cola Journey at www.coca-colacompany.com, follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/CocaColaCo, visit our blog, Coca-Cola Unbottled, at www.coca-colablog.com or find us on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/company/the-coca-cola-company.