Henrique Braun, who has been CEO of Coca-Cola Co. for less than two months, already is making his presence felt in Atlanta.
Braun welcomed Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens to Coca-Cola’s headquarters on May 14 to be part of the FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour and to highlight Atlanta as one of the host cities of the international sporting event.
Most importantly, it was an opportunity for Braun to introduce himself to Atlanta early in his tenure as CEO.
Braun, who soon will turn 58, succeeded James Quincey, a native of England who served as the company’s CEO from 2017 to March 31.
“The recent transition between James Quincey and Henrique has, in my memory, been one of the smoothest ever,” said Neville Isdell, who served as CEO from 2004 to 2008. “Coca-Cola is superbly equipped to maintain its ongoing growth and its relationship with society around the world in a way that has not presented itself before.”
In an exclusive interview after the trophy presentation, Braun spoke of his personal and professional background, his views on Atlanta and his plans to lead the Coca-Cola Co.
“It’s hard to think about Atlanta without Coke and Coke without Atlanta,” Braun said. “To me, this is so embedded.”
Braun, who was born in California but grew up in Brazil, has had a multi-decade relationship with Atlanta and Coca-Cola Co.
As a young man, Braun remembered playing football (soccer) on the beach. Coincidentally, the losing team had to buy the winning team a liter of Coke. He could not have imagined he would be the top executive of one of the best-known beverage companies in the world.
While still in Brazil, Braun received a scholarship to participate in an exchange program in the United States. He applied to many universities, and he selected the University of Georgia.
“’I went to Athens during my undergrad,” Braun said, adding he got a summer internship in 1993 at the Coca-Cola Co. “When I finished, they wanted to offer me a job either here or in Brazil.”
But Braun decided to complete his bachelor’s degree in agricultural engineering from the University Federal of Rio de Janeiro. But when he received a full scholarship to do his master’s at Michigan State University, Braun decided to continue his education.
Then, during a career fair at MSU, Coca-Cola invited Braun to return to the company in Atlanta.
“I thought it was the best thing ever,” Braun said. “I joined [the company] in 1996 in the global corporate engineering group. And during the process, I got married to Bella, my sweetheart. She’s also from Brazil. This was our first town, first job, just married, and we had a blast.”
While working at Coca-Cola, Braun earned his master’s in business administration at Georgia State University. In true Coca-Cola style, Braun had various international assignments, starting in Europe, and his two children were born in Belgium. Braun served as president of Greater China and South Korea from 2013 to 2016, when he was named president of Coca-Cola’s Brazil business unit. He served in that role until 2020, when he was named president of Latin America.
Then, in 2022, Braun returned to Atlanta, first as president of international development. He became chief operating officer on Jan. 1, 2025, an indication he was a contender for the top job.
Braun said the company has been focused on succession planning in recent years. It was a lesson the company learned when longtime CEO Roberto Goizueta died of cancer in 1997 while still at the helm.
It’s important for the company “to always have a few people ready” to fill the top role to ensure a smooth transition.
“I think that has been a culture that James (Quincey) brought to all of us on the leadership team,” Braun said. “I felt that this was well planned. We gave time to the market, to shareholders, to bottlers, to everybody, to understand how things were moving.”
Braun also said the company is well connected with its bottlers and that the entire system is working well.
“We have a trust level with them that I would say is unprecedented within my tenure,” he said. They share the same goals and values, focusing on consumers as well as community. It’s part of Coca-Cola’s philosophy to “Think globally. Act locally.”
Braun is the second Latino CEO of the company. The first was Goizueta, who was Cuban. In between the bookends, the CEOs have been Australian, Irish, Turkish and English. There was one American, Doug Ivester, who served for three years following Goizueta’s death.
Early in his career at the company, Braun remembered meeting Goizueta three times. At the time, Braun was concerned his Brazilian accent was too strong. But the company, then and now, considers accents to be “flavors” that enrich its global dimension.
“We are a company of multiple flavors. Diversity comes to life in a natural way,” Braun said. “I continue to learn. you meet people, literally from all over the world, and sometimes, it is mind-blowing.”
Braun highlighted the fact that the Coca-Cola Co. now has 32 “billion-dollar” brands, 75 percent being non-sparkling drinks. During Quincey’s tenure, the company added 12 billion-dollar brands. He described the sparkling beverages as being the “core” of the company. But Coca-Cola has been willing to invest in other brands.
“Fifty percent [16 in total] were brands we acquired,” Braun said. “Sometimes people forget that. Three of them we bought were already higher than the $1 billion mark. But everything else, we bought below a billion.”
Braun said he has three beliefs the company should nurture for future decades. First, everyone at the company should believe in the magic of the industry. Second, the company will continue to develop billion-dollar brands. And third, is the notion that the company and the bottlers are part of one system.
“We are together in this system, having a constructive tension of us pushing each other to do better,” said Braun, who considers the company to be consumer-driven. “That’s what makes us competitive.”
He also believes in the four “I”s: Insights, Innovation, Intimacy at the local level and Integration. Braun then quoted Robert W. Woodruff, who was the iconic CEO for decades: “The world belongs to the discontented.”
“It’s so true,” Braun said. “We will continue to push what it takes to make this company even better for the next century, and we’re going to do that by being discontent about the opportunities at the local level and at the global level.”
When it comes to community engagement, Braun works closely with Beatriz “Bea” Perez, the executive vice president who oversees global communications, sustainability, strategic partnerships, and the Coca-Cola Foundation.
For Braun, the center of Coca-Cola’s universe is Atlanta. It’s where Coke was invented 140 years ago. It’s the site of its first bottling plant. And it is the base for the company’s operations around the world.
The FIFA Trophy Tour was an example. Braun had an opportunity to meet privately with both the governor and the mayor.
“I’m very excited about his leadership,” Kemp said. “And I’m looking forward to working with him.”
Kathy Waller, executive director of the Atlanta Committee for Progress and a former chief financial officer of the Coca-Cola Co., said Braun was an “amazing” person.
“I love Henrique,” Waller said. “He’s got the heart to lead Coca-Cola and to be a great member of the Atlanta community.”
Throughout the interview, Braun highlighted his feelings about Atlanta. He remembered when he and his wife lived in Vinings in the 1990s, and the population sign read 3 million. Today, they live in Buckhead, fully enjoying Atlanta and its surroundings. Their daughter graduated from Emory and is now working in Florida; their son is graduating from college and plans to work in Washington, D.C.
“Atlanta is my hometown,” said Braun, adding that he and his wife love Atlanta. “This is the headquarters of the Brauns. We enjoy being part of the community.”
When at home, Braun enjoys going to festivals, to Chastain Park, to local museums and on bicycle rides with his wife and children. In his personal time, he enjoys playing soccer.
Bea Perez said Braun will be visible around town, showing up at places without having to get an award. “It’s not about the awards,” she said. “It’s about showing up for the people.”
Braun said Atlanta is the place that has inspired the company and its global expansion.
“There’s something about Atlanta,” he said. “All of us who work for the company all over the world — bottlers, company associates — when they come here, they feel the energy of this business.”
Asked if he had any discontent about Atlanta, Braun answered with a question that could apply to both the company and its headquarters.
“Can we do more?” he said. “Of course, and this is part of this discontent. We’re proud about everything that we are about and what we have done. We are even more excited about what we can do better together.”
