Coca-Cola reshuffles Asia power centres, elevates Sanket Ray

NEW DELHI: The Coca-Cola Company has handed Sanket Ray a sweeping new regional mandate, folding Asia’s biggest growth engines into his remit as the Atlanta group redraws its global power map.

From 31 March, Ray will add the title of emerging large markets lead to his current role as president, India and southwest Asia. The expanded brief gives him oversight of India and southwest Asia, greater China and Mongolia, and Japan and South Korea, placing some of the company’s most strategically critical markets under one command.

The shake-up comes as Henrique Braun prepares to take over as chief executive officer on 31 March, 2026, replacing James Quincey, who will stay on as executive chairman. Braun is currently executive vice-president and chief operating officer.

As part of the overhaul, Coca-Cola is carving the world into two new market groupings reporting directly to Braun, spanning Asia, Africa and the Middle East. One of these will be led by Ray, underlining the growing weight of India and its surrounding markets inside the company’s global portfolio.

The second grouping — covering Eurasia and the Middle East, Asean and the South Pacific, and Africa — will be run by Claudia Lorenzo, who also becomes president of the Eurasia and Middle East operating unit. Lorenzo is currently chief of staff to Quincey and a former president of the Asean and South Pacific operating unit.

“These changes are intended to help equip our organisation to handle the dynamic conditions we are seeing in markets around the world,” Braun said. “Sanket and Claudia bring deep regional experience and established leadership, which will be critical as we tap the immense growth potential across the markets they will lead.”

Coca-Cola is also creating a new chief digital officer role, bringing together digital, data and operational excellence. Sedef Salingan Sahin, now president of the Eurasia and Middle East operating unit, will step into the job and report to Braun.

Responsibility for digital strategy will move from president and chief financial officer John Murphy to Sahin, tightening the company’s grip on technology-led growth as it heads into its next phase.