Coca-Cola has expanded the role of its India and Southwest Asia president Sanket Ray, entrusting him with some of the company’s most strategically important Asian markets as the global beverage major sharpens its focus on high-growth regions.
Effective March 31, Ray will assume responsibility for Greater China, Japan, and South Korea, in addition to continuing to lead Coca-Cola’s India and Southwest Asia business. The move places Ray at the centre of Coca-Cola’s Asia strategy, covering markets that together account for a large share of the company’s global volumes and future growth ambitions.
The elevation is part of a broader leadership overhaul announced by Coca-Cola as it prepares for a change at the top. Henrique Braun will take over as global chief executive officer from James Quincey on March 31, with Quincey continuing as executive chairman of the board. Coca-Cola is also creating two new market groupings, reporting to Braun, to intensify its focus on Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.
“These changes are intended to help equip our organization to handle the dynamic conditions we are seeing in markets around the world,” Braun said in a statement, adding that Ray’s “deep regional experience and established leadership” would be crucial in unlocking growth across these diverse and fast-evolving territories.
Ray, who joined Coca-Cola in 2004, was appointed president for India and Southwest Asia in 2020. Before that, he served as the company’s chief operating officer for Mainland China, giving him rare experience across both developed and emerging Asian beverage markets.
Coca-Cola remains the dominant player in India’s Rs 60,000-crore soft drinks market. The company has also been reshaping its local operations, having sold a 40% stake in its bottling arm, Hindustan Coca-Cola Holdings Pvt Ltd — the parent of Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages — to Jubilant Bhartia Group for about Rs 12,500 crore last year.
With Ray now overseeing some of Asia’s biggest and most complex markets, Coca-Cola is signalling that India-based leadership will play a pivotal role in steering its next phase of growth across the continent.