James Quincey, who has been Coca-Cola CEO since 2017 and oversaw the beverage giant’s landmark acquisition of Costa Coffee for $4.9bn in 2019, will step into an Executive Chairman role in 2026
The future of Coca-Cola’s coffee strategy is hanging in the balance with the announcement that James Quincey, who led the beverage giant’s acquisition of Costa Coffee in 2019, will transition to an Executive Chairman role.
The Coca-Cola Company has appointed Chief Operating Officer Henrique Braun as its new CEO, effective 31 March 2026. The leadership change comes at a pivotal juncture for the US beverage giant as it considers a cut-price sale of its 4,200-store Costa Coffee business.
The $4.9bn acquisition of Costa marked Coca-Cola’s first foray into the global coffee and hot beverage markets and one of Quincey’s first major moves after being appointed CEO in May 2017.
However, in July 2025, Quincey told Coca-Cola’s investors that the business was “reflecting” on the coffee shop business after conceding that its investment “is not where we wanted it to be” following lower-than-expected returns.
Several interested parties have reportedly expressed interest in acquiring UK-based Costa, with Coca-Cola reportedly willing to consider bids in the region of $2bn – a near 60% markdown. US private equity firm Bain Capital, which backs boutique bakery-café group Gail’s, TDR Capital, the owner of UK supermarket chain Asda, and Luckin Coffee majority stakeholder, Centurium Capital, are among the named parties interested in acquiring the chain.
Braun joined Coca‑Cola in 1996 and held several senior supply chain, business development and marketing positions before serving as President for Greater China & South Korea 2013-2016. He held the same role for Coca-Cola’s Brazilian business unit from 2016 to 2020 and the Latin America region from 2020 to 2022.
He then served as President for International Development, before being appointed Chief Operating Officer in January 2025.
In a press release, Coca-Cola said Braun’s short-term priorities include exploring new global growth opportunities and leveraging technology to improve business performance. The US beverage giant also labelled Quincey’s tenure as highly successful, with more than 10 additional billion-dollar brands added to its portfolio under his leadership.
Coca-Cola products are currently sold in more than 200 countries globally. Alongside its eponymous Coca-Cola brand and Costa, the group also owns the Sprite and Fanta soft drinks brands, Powerade energy drink business, Minute Maid dairy brand and innocent smoothie company.
Atlanta-based Coca-Cola posted $47.1bn in revenues in 2024 and has achieved net revenue growth in two of its three quarters this year to date.
