Ticker symbol: KO

(ENLARGE)

Neville Isdell

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Where traded: New York Stock Exchange

CEO: Neville Isdell

Headquarters: Atlanta

Business summary: Coca-Cola is the world's largest manufacturer and marketer of nonalcoholic beverage concen trates and syrups whose finished products bearing its trademark are sold in more than 200 countries.

Neville Isdell was named Coca-Cola Co. chairman and chief executive officer in June 2004. He will step down as CEO in July, handing the job to Muhtar Kent, Coke's president and chief operating officer. Isdell will continue to serve as chairman through Coke's 2009 shareholders meeting. He answered questions recently about the state of the company.

Q: After five years of steady growth the economy started to slow in 2007, due mainly to a slump in home construction and a crisis in the subprime mortgage market. The economy shows signs of slowing even more in 2008. How has that affected your markets and strategy for growing the business?

A: The current slowdown in the U.S. economy certainly has impacted our North America business and the beverage industry as whole, but we continue to work closely with our bottling partners to manage through these headwinds. We remain confident in our ability to achieve long-term sustainable growth for the following reasons:

• A balanced geographic mix and balanced portfolio mix. We are in the fastest growing segment of the consumer products industry and are well-positioned to capture the enormous opportunity that exists across the globe.
• With more than 80 percent of our operating income coming from outside of North America and limited raw material costs exposure, we are well positioned for any near-term economic outlook.
• Industry analysts continue to view the food and beverage sector as favorable based on its solid fundamentals and defensive characteristics.

Q: One source of strength for many companies hurt by the domestic economy has been the continued growth of foreign economies. How much of your success was due to foreign sales or investments? Is this an area for future growth and investment by your company?

A: More than 80 percent of our operating income comes from outside of North America and our international operations continue to be our primary driver of growth. Importantly, this growth is coming from both developed and emerging markets, a testament to the strength of our international presence.

Q: What's on the horizon for your company that you can talk about, such as an acquisition, stock offering or buyback, new products, expansion?

A: We expect to continue our program of targeted bolt-on acquisitions combined with organic growth. New products and innovation will continue as well. Another important characteristic of our company that we expect to remain is our ability to generate substantial levels of free cash, which we return to shareowners through share repurchases and rising dividends.

Q: U.S. consumption of carbonated soft drinks has declined for three straight years, according to Beverage Digest. Do you expect the trend to continue? What is Coca-Cola doing to deal with the decline?

A: We have shown that when we commit ourselves to growing sparkling beverages, we succeed. Coca-Cola Zero is a great example of that commitment. We launched the brand two years ago, it is now in 81 markets and it continues to deliver double-digit growth. In the first quarter, we continued to deliver solid growth in sparkling beverages. We increased unit case volume three percent, led by five percent growth in international markets.