Coca-Cola Creates Chief Digital Officer Role in Leadership Overhaul
Coca-Cola creates first CDO role, appointing Sedef Sahin to centralize digital strategy. Restructure prioritizes Asia markets generating 38% of revenue.
The Coca-Cola Company has established its first chief digital officer position, appointing Sedef Salingan Sahin to the newly created role effective March 31, 2026. The move centralizes digital strategy previously scattered across multiple functions as the beverage giant accelerates technology adoption across global operations.
Digital Leadership Takes Center Stage
Sahin, currently president of Coca-Cola's Eurasia and Middle East operating unit, will report directly to incoming CEO Henrique Braun. She will oversee enterprise-wide digital strategy, data operations, and operational excellence, responsibilities previously managed by President and CFO John Murphy alongside his financial duties.
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A 22-year Coca-Cola veteran, Sahin has led digitization and marketing transformation initiatives across developed and developing markets. Her appointment coincides with Braun's transition to CEO on the same date, succeeding James Quincey, who will continue as executive chairman.
"Elevating digital leadership allows us to move faster and work smarter across all markets," Braun stated in announcing the restructure. The company emphasized Sahin's role as "pivotal" for digitalizing operations end to end and enabling faster consumer delivery.
The restructuring builds on Coca-Cola's $1.1 billion strategic partnership with Microsoft announced in 2024, which deployed Azure OpenAI Service and Copilot across operations. The technology investment directly supports Sahin's mandate to accelerate AI adoption and integrate digital capabilities across the enterprise.
Asian Markets Gain Strategic Focus
Coca-Cola simultaneously restructured its operational leadership around two new market groupings emphasizing Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. Sanket Ray will oversee India, Southwest Asia, Greater China, Mongolia, Japan, and South Korea. Claudia Lorenzo will lead Eurasia, Middle East, ASEAN, South Pacific, and Africa markets, which collectively generated 38% of Coca-Cola's 2025 revenue.
The Asia-focused reorganization reflects growing importance of high-growth markets where beverage e-commerce expanded 27% year over year in 2025. Ray's expanded remit consolidates oversight of markets where route-to-market digitization has lagged North America by approximately 18 months, creating opportunities for accelerated technology deployment.
Executive Vice President and CMO Manolo Arroyo will expand his responsibilities to include customer and commercial leadership, becoming executive vice president and chief marketing and customer commercial officer. The combined role aligns marketing strategy with digital execution, a model adopted by 63% of Asia-Pacific consumer goods companies in 2025.
Technology Standardization Across Regions
Coca-Cola's Adobe Experience Cloud adoption has standardized marketing operations for more than 200 regional teams, enabling AI-driven personalization at scale. The platform unifies 11 Asia-Pacific markets under one technology infrastructure, supporting the centralized digital strategy Sahin will lead.
The Microsoft partnership deployed Azure AI for demand forecasting in India, reducing out-of-stock incidents by 22%. The Adobe implementation increased campaign ROI by 17% through AI-personalized offers across ASEAN markets. These technology investments provide the foundation for Sahin's enterprise-wide digital integration mandate.
Murphy will retain his president and CFO role, continuing oversight of global strategy, corporate development, investor relations, and financial functions. The leadership changes take effect March 31, aligning with Braun's CEO transition and marking a new phase in Coca-Cola's digital transformation journey.
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