Roberto Goizueta - Career at The Coca-Cola Company

Career At The Coca-Cola Company

A year after returning to Cuba to work in his family's business, replying to an anonymous want ad in his local newspaper, Goizueta found himself working for the Coca-Cola bottler in Cuba. A short time later he was promoted to Chief Technical Director of five Cuban bottling plants.

After defecting to the United States, he worked for The Coca-Cola Company in Miami. He was re-assigned to Nassau, Bahamas as a Chemist for the Caribbean region.

In 1964 he was moved to the headquarters of the Coca-Cola Company in Atlanta, Georgia. At the age of 35, he became Vice President of Technical Research and Development. He remains the youngest person to hold this position at the company. In 1975, he was promoted to lead the Legal and External Affairs department.

He received a surprising appointment in 1979, to become President of the Coca-Cola Company after then officer J. Lucian Smith (Coca Cola President 1974-1979) resigned. In March 1981, he assumed the chairmanship after Chairman J. Paul Austin (Coca Cola President 1962-1971) retired.

He remained at the helm of The Coca-Cola Company for sixteen years until the time of his death, due to complications from lung cancer, in 1997. During his tenure, the Coca-Cola brand became the best-known trademark in the world. He introduced the Coke slogans "Coke is it!", "You Can't Beat the Feeling" and "Always Coca-Cola". He launched Diet Coke, as well as the ill-fated New Coke.

In 1982 Goizueta approved the purchase of Columbia Pictures, signaling Coca-Cola's intentions to branch out beyond the soft-drink business. Many analysts believed Coca-Cola had paid too much for the film studio, which, like all entertainment companies, was subject to the unpredictable whims of the movie-going public. Goizueta found himself uncomfortable in a business he knew little about, and in 1989 he sold Columbia to Sony for $3 billion.

He also sat on the Board of Directors for various companies, including SunTrust Banks, the Ford Motor Company, and the Eastman Kodak Company.

Goizueta was famous for his business rivalry with fellow businessman Roger Enrico, CEO of PepsiCo.