Neville Isdell was named to his current position as CEO of The Coca-Cola Company in June 2004, and is the 12th chairman of the board in the history of the company. He began his career with Coca-Cola in 1966 at the local bottling plant in Zambia and held management positions throughout Coca-Cola worldwide. In 1998 he became chairman and CEO of Coca-Cola Beverages Plc in Britain, where he oversaw that company’s merger with Hellenic Bottling and the formation of Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company, then the world’s second-largest Coca-Cola bottler.

He is chairman of the U.S. Russia Business Council, a member of the board of trustees of the International Business Leaders Forum and the United States Council for International Business. Isdell received a bachelor’s degree in social sciences from the University of Cape Town and is a graduate of the Harvard Business School Program for Management Development.

A native of Downpatrick, County Down, Isdell moved to Zambia as a child.  This year, he received an honorary degree from the University of Ulster.