THE Coca-Cola Company has announced a number of leadership appointments to support the company's new global operating structure.

As part of the reorganization structure, Nathan Kalumbu will be the President for Coca-Cola's Eurasia & Africa Group, effective 1st January, 2013.

Kalumbu, a Zimbabwean national, is currently the President of the Nairobi-based Coca-Cola Central, East and West Africa (CEWA) Business Unit. In his new capacity, Kalumbu will lead Coca-Cola's business, spanning across Africa, the Middle East, Russia Ukraine & Belarus as well as Central Asia.

Kalumbu has successfully held numerous positions of increasing responsibility over his 22-year career with The Coca-Cola Company. He has successfully led Coca-Cola's growth in the Sub-Saharan Africa, whose region is currently experiencing significant economic growth and relative political stability.

Succeeding Kalumbu is Kelvin Balogun, currently serving as Managing Director for Coca-Cola Nigeria. He will lead Coca-Cola's operations in the Central East & West Africa, headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya.Balogun is currently the Managing Director of Coca-Cola Nigeria. Over the past 18 months he led the development and execution of a multi-year strategic plan including capability and leadership building to re-energize the business in Nigeria, and drive Coca-Cola's performance in Africa's second largest market.

Prior to his appointment as Managing Director of Coca-Cola in Nigeria, Balogun was Coca-Cola's General Manager for the East Africa franchise.Commenting on the announcements, Chairman and CEO of The Coca-Cola Company, Muhtar Kent stated that the announcements demonstrate the talented, diverse and experienced senior management team that the Company is fortunate to have worldwide.

"These executives are leading our operating businesses around the world at a critical time as we build the right structure for the next phase of our journey toward achieving our 2020 Vision. We have solid momentum in our business, and we continue to lay the foundation for strong leadership and management continuity for years to come".

The changes, which will take effect on 1st January 2013, consolidate the leadership of the Company's global operations under the Bottling Investments Group and two large, but similar sized geographic regions (Coca-Cola Americas and Coca-Cola International) to streamline reporting lines, intensify focus on key markets and create a structure that leverages synergies and provides flexibility to adjust the business within these geographies in the future.