The Hindu Business Line : Expat John Ustas appointed Coke's bottling chief

COCA-COLA Company today formally announced the restructuring of its Indian operations, making the company owned bottling operations (CoBos) independent.

Mr John Ustas, who was heading the company's bottling operations in Norway, has been appointed as the Chief Executive Officer of the CoBos in India.

He will report to Mr Steve Buffington, the Regional Director of Latin America and Asia for Bottling Investments.

So far, all functions, including CoBos, were being overseen by the Coca-Cola India President, Mr Sanjiv Gupta. While the statement was silent on the future role of Mr Gupta, company officials said here that he would continue to report to the Coke's Asia-Pacific chief, Mr Patrick Siewert. "Mr Gupta will continue to focus on strategy, brand building, and relationship with franchisee bottlers," company officials said.

While announcing Mr Ustas' appointment, the President of Bottling Investments of the Coca-Cola Company, Mr Irial Finan, said in a statement, "This move will help us strengthen our management team in India and appropriately position us to capture a new level of success in one of our most important long-term markets."

Mr Ustas replaces Mr Vipul Saurabh, who "will move to a challenging developmental role within our international bottling system, details of which will be announced at a later date," the statement added.

Mr Ustas most recently served as the Managing Director of Coca-Cola Drikker AS, in Norway. He has over 23 years of experience in the beverage industry across the US and Europe. In India, the company has 24 CoBos and 26 franchisee-owned bottling plants under Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages, the 51 per cent subsidiary company of Coca-Cola India.

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