Dive Brief:
- Coca-Cola named Kathy Waller as its next chief financial officer. She will replace Gary Fayard, who will retire in May.
- Fayard has held the top finance job at the soft-drink giant since 1999. He's presided over the money at what was a famously cash-rich company for many years, but has recently struggled with declining sales.
- Waller takes over at a crucial time for Coca-Cola. The company's CEO has already announced plans to cut costs by $1 billion by 2016.
Dive Insight:
We don't envy Waller. We'd be hard-pressed to name a more challenging finance job in the food and beverage industry at this point in time.
First, she has to find that $1 billion in savings somewhere. Second, her boss, CEO Muhtar Kent, is expected to announce formally at a conference today in New York the long-anticipated plan to refranchise at least some of its bottlers.
