Coca-Cola Chairman and CEO James Quincey Recognized with the Yale Legend in Leadership Award

James Quincey, Chairman and CEO of The Coca-Cola Company, will receive the Yale Legend in Leadership Award at the Yale CEO Caucus, which will take place in Washington DC on September 18. The award, conferred by the unanimous vote of Yale representatives and past award winners, will be presented by Mary Barra, CEO of General Motors; Greg Brown, CEO of Motorola Solutions, Peter Orszag, CEO of Lazard Freres & Co., and Indra Nooyi, former CEO of PepsiCo.

Summit organizer Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, senior associate dean for leadership studies at the Yale School of Management, commented:

“James Quincey was handed a daunting legacy with the word ‘Coke,’ the most internationally recognized term after the expression ‘okay.’ In his successful stewardship of the iconic Coca-Cola brand, Quincey embodies the values and sustained track record of success the Yale Legend in Leadership Award was designed to recognize.

“Even in Coca-Cola’s storied history, Quincey’s leadership stands tall. I personally knew four of Coca-Cola’s past leaders, and believe they would all salute his record of accomplishment matched with his personal humility.

“Like the chorus in Coca-Cola’s ad campaign, James Quincey’s leadership is ‘the real thing.’ His results since becoming CEO in 2017 have been powerful: Coca-Cola’s stock is trading at near all-time highs, outperforming some of its competitors, with the company increasing revenues and improving the margin profile of the overall business. But how Quincey achieved that success is just as noteworthy. Far from coasting on Coca-Cola’s formidable brand equity, Quincey has led the company to new heights by driving relentless product innovation and reorienting towards a more diverse portfolio.

“Early in his tenure, Quincey redirected the company’s efforts towards becoming what he called ‘a total beverage company’ and moving beyond the company’s historical soda dominance. He boldly discontinued around 200 underperforming brands, amounting to approximately 50% of Coca-Cola’s entire portfolio at the time. Quincey then focused on driving accelerated volume growth in more diverse product offerings, with record volume growth in Coca-Cola Zero Sugar. By 2022, low- and no-sugar offerings represented 29% of the company’s volume.

“Quincey has similarly built on Coca-Cola’s sterling history of social responsibility and community engagement while extending the company’s impact to new fields. As of 2023, 148% of the water used in Coca-Cola’s finished beverages is returned to nature and communities. Beyond sustainability, in 2022 Coca-Cola donated 1.4% of its operating income to its philanthropic arm, The Coca-Cola Foundation, to be invested into local communities, handily surpassing its annual giving goal of 1%.

“James Quincey is one of the most revered, admired CEOs operating today, and an inspiring reminder that doing good does not have to be antithetical to doing well.”

James Quincey is the chairman and CEO of The Coca-Cola Company. Quincey, who first joined the company in 1996, has held a number of leadership roles around the world. He became CEO in 2017 and chairman of the company’s board in 2019.

Quincey is leading Coca-Cola in its continuing evolution as a total beverage company. Coca-Cola is a growth company that provides brands and beverages that make life’s everyday moments more enjoyable, all while doing business the right way. The result is shared opportunity for communities, customers, employees, and shareowners.

Before becoming CEO, Quincey served as president and chief operating officer of the company from 2015 to 2017. From 2013 to 2015, he was president of the company’s Europe group. Under his leadership, the group expanded its brand portfolio and improved market share. Quincey also played a key role in the creation of Coca-Cola European Partners, one of the largest independent Coca-Cola bottlers in the world. Quincey served as president of the Northwest Europe and Nordics business unit from 2008 to 2012. This role included leading the acquisition of Innocent Drinks in 2009.

Quincey joined the company’s Atlanta office in 1996 as director of learning strategy for the Latin America group. He went on to serve in a series of operational roles in Latin America, eventually leading to his appointment as president of the South Latin division in 2003. He was president of the company’s Mexico division from 2005 to 2008, where he led the acquisition of Jugos del Valle. Prior to joining Coca-Cola, Quincey was a partner in strategy consulting at The Kalchas Group, a spinoff of Bain & Company and McKinsey & Company.

Quincey is a director of Pfizer and a board member of the Consumer Goods Forum. He is a founding member of the New York Stock Exchange Board Advisory Council. Fluent in Spanish and English, he received a bachelor’s degree in electronic engineering from the University of Liverpool. He is a native of Britain.

The Yale Legend in Leadership Award was created 35 years ago to honor current and former CEOs who serve as living legends to inspire chief executives across industries, sectors, and nations. Past recipients include: Marc Benioff, chair and CEO of Salesforce; Mike Sievert, CEO of T-Mobile; Ajay Banga, president of the World Bank; Arvind Krishna, chair and CEO of IBM; Steven Spielberg, filmmaker and chair of Amblin Partners; Darius Adamczyk, CEO of Honeywell; Volodymyr Zelenskyy, president of Ukraine; Doug Parker, chairman of American Airlines; Albert Bourla, CEO of Pfizer; Alex Gorsky, CEO of Johnson & Johnson; Lynn Good, CEO of Duke Energy; Lisa Su, CEO of AMD; Anthony Fauci, director of the NIAID; Doug McMillon, CEO of Walmart; Arne Sorenson, CEO of Marriott International; Andrew J. Young, mayor of Atlanta (1982-1990) and ambassador to the United Nations

(1977-1979); Brian C. Cornell, chair and CEO of Target Corporation; Ivan G. Seidenberg, chair and CEO of Verizon Communications; Ken Frazier, chair and CEO of Merck & Co.; Randall L. Stephenson, Chairman and CEO of AT&T; Colin Powell, four-star U.S. Army general, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (1989–1993), and secretary of state (2001-2005); Virginia M. “Ginni” Rometty, chairman, president, and CEO of IBM; Janet Yellen, United States secretary of the treasury; Paul Polman, CEO of Unilever PLC; Mary T. Barra, chairman and CEO of General Motors Company; Brian Moynihan, chairman and CEO of Bank of America; David M. Rubenstein, co-founder and co-executive chairman of the Carlyle Group; Leonard S. Schleifer, president and CEO of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals; George D. Yancopoulos, president and chief scientific officer of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals; Brian Roberts, CEO of Comcast; Marillyn Hewson, CEO of Lockheed Martin; Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase; and Ken Chenault, chair and CEO of American Express.

The caucus theme is “Leading Business Optimism Through the Age of Political Grievances”. Our leadership partners include: AlixPartners, Reichman Jorgensen Lehman & Feldberg LLP, and Gladstone Place Partners. Our knowledge partner is McKinsey & Company.