Muhtar Kent, who started his career with Atlanta-based Coca-Cola Co. 30 years ago, officially takes over today as chief executive officer of the world's largest beverage firm.
Kent's first day will not be marked with great fanfare. Neville Isdell, Coke's outgoing CEO, made a priority of ensuring as seamless a transition as possible.
 SANJIT DAS/Bloomberg News | ||
| Muhtar Kent became the heir apparent to the CEO's chair in late 2006. | ||
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Isdell became CEO in 2004 after the rocky four-year tenure of Doug Daft, who announced his retirement without a successor in place. Isdell will remain as chairman of the board through the 2009 shareholders meeting.
Born in New York the son of a Turkish ambassador, Kent, 55, began his career with Coca-Cola in 1978. After running a Turkish beverage company from 1999 to 2005, he returned to Coke in the company's international operations.
He was named president and chief operating officer in late 2006, setting him up as the No. 2 executive. Coke announced in December 2007 that Kent would become CEO in July.
Coke is in better shape than it was four years ago when Isdell took over. Profits, revenues and sales are up. Coke's stock price also rose through much of Isdell's tenure but has dropped this year along with much of the economy.
Slowing U.S. beverage sales, particularly for carbonated soft drinks, present a major challenge for Coke. Kent has said he will seek to continue Coke's growth in developing nations and build a balanced beverage portfolio that includes noncarbonated drinks.
But he has insisted that carbonated soft drinks, also called sparkling beverages, are core to Coke's success.
"Sparkling beverages are the oxygen of our company and this entire industry," Kent said at a consumer goods conference this year.
The company is pushing a three-cola strategy of Coca-Cola Classic, Coke Zero and Diet Coke in an effort to spur growth in the segment.
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