GREEK COKE BOTTLER SAYS CREATES COO POST
Reuters
Thu Jul 2, 2009 8:19am EDT
ATHENS, July 2 (Reuters) – Greek Coke bottler Coca-Cola Hellenic
(CCH) (HLBr.AT) created a chief operating officer (COO) position and
appointed its former region director to the post, the company said
on Thursday.
The world’s second-largest bottler of Coca-Cola (KO.N) products said
Dimitris Lois will take up the COO position from August 1.
Lois joined CCH in 2007 and has served as a region director,
responsible for several key markets of the bottler, including Bulgaria,
Cyprus, Greece, Moldova, Nigeria and Romania.
"His (Lois’) new role will be important in accelerating the
execution of key strategic priorities and will enable us to maximise
opportunities…" CCH’s managing director Doros Constantinou said in
a statement.
Recession has been hitting CCH’s sales volume but the firm is investing
in its brand and has increased prices to cope with the downturn.
Last month, the bottler said the poor consumer trend seen in the
first quarter continued into April and May, although it managed to
gain market share in many countries.
In a separate announcement, CCH said current general manager for
Russia, Belarus and Armenia Keith Sanders will replace Lois. Sanders
has been working within the Coca-Cola system since 1992 and joined
CCH in 2004.
The stock trades 14.2 times its estimated 2009 earnings compared to
a 12.8-times multiple for peer Coca Cola Enterprises (CCE.N).