Coca-Cola is restructuring its executive leadership to accelerate digital transformation across the enterprise, creating a dedicated chief digital officer role for the first time in the company’s history. The sweeping overhaul, effective March 31, 2026, positions the beverage giant to move faster in adopting technology and responding to consumer demands across global markets.
Sedef Salingan Sahin will serve as the company’s first chief digital officer, reporting directly to incoming CEO Henrique Braun. Sahin currently leads Coca-Cola‘s Eurasia and Middle East operating unit and joined the company in 2003. Her new role consolidates digital strategy, data analytics, and operational excellence under unified leadership. This represents a significant shift, as digital responsibilities transfer from CFO John Murphy to Sahin’s dedicated position.
Coca-Cola’s first chief digital officer will consolidate digital strategy, data analytics, and operational excellence under unified leadership starting March 2026.
The organizational changes aim to deliver tangible business outcomes. You can expect faster decision-making, stronger consumer insights, and improved execution across Coca-Cola’s diverse portfolio of soft drinks, waters, sports drinks, coffee, tea, juices, and plant-based beverages. The company plans to leverage AI for demand forecasting, personalized marketing campaigns, and automated distribution networks. iPaaS platforms will likely be used to connect cloud and on-premises systems to speed integrations and reduce maintenance overhead.
Braun, a 30-year Coca-Cola veteran moving from EVP and COO to CEO, emphasized that the new structure enables smarter work and quicker movement across markets. James Quincey will remain as executive chairman after stepping down from the CEO role. According to Braun, Sahin will assess and organize digital teams to drive end-to-end digitalization while strengthening supply chain resilience and retail execution.
This leadership restructuring addresses mounting business pressures. Mature markets show slowing growth, operational costs continue rising, and consumer preferences fragment across categories. The company created two new market groupings to sharpen focus on Asia, Africa, and the Middle East—regions offering higher volume growth potential. Sanket Ray will oversee large emerging markets including India, Greater China, Japan and South Korea. Claudia Lorenzo will lead emerging multi-markets including Eurasia and the Middle East, ASEAN and South Pacific, and Africa.
The dedicated chief digital officer position counters a decade-long trend where CFOs owned digital transformation. A 2019 RSM survey found 66% of CFOs held responsibility for digital initiatives. Coca-Cola’s $1.1 billion Microsoft partnership, announced in 2024, provides Azure OpenAI and Copilot capabilities supporting this transformation. The company recognizes that digital risk now centers on operational continuity and system resilience rather than experimental innovation.
