Source: The Coca Cola Company
New executive officers have emerged from the recently concluded board elections at The Coca-Cola Company. On the 26th of April, 2021, The Coca-Cola Company announced that Monica Howard Douglas will resume as senior Vice President and the company’s general counsel.
Monica Douglas, who has spent 17 years at the company, recently held the position of chief compliance officer and associate general counsel for the North American operating unit. Her new role will see her report directly to the Chairman and CEO, James Quincey, while she oversees the company’s global legal functions.
Monica’s journey at Coca-Cola began in 2004 as senior managing counsel. Her roles and responsibilities have gotten more robust since then. She has worked as the legal director for Coca-Cola in Southern and Eastern Africa before becoming the general counsel for Coca-Cola North America in 2018. Before joining Coca-Cola, Monica worked as an attorney with Atlanta-based company Equifax and as an associate at Atlanta law firm, Troutman Pepper LLP, which was known as Troutman Sanders LLP at the time.
She has extensive corporate experience, which includes serving as a member of the board of directors for VICI Properties Inc., Cool Girls Inc., and Junior Achievement USA. She holds a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan and a law degree from Stanford University. Her new role as Senior VP is effective immediately as she succeeds Bradley Gayton.
Other Elected Officials
Monica Douglas’ emergence as the new senior vice president happened from a board election which saw other principal officers assume new roles. Jeffrey Gilbert was elected as vice president and Chief Security Officer. Gilbert joined Coca Cola on March 15, and his job description entails developing the company’s vision and strategies and implementing the global risk strategies, operational planning, and all related strategic security programs,
Gilbert, a graduate of Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and Hampton University. His last job position was senior vice president and chief security officer at WarnerMedia. He was in charge of the global organization leadership of security professionals to deliver strategic security solutions in the company. Gilbert’s experience in law enforcement spans 21 years with the United States Secret Service. He also spent nine years in an executive leadership role and another seven years at PepsiCo in both domestic and international senior security roles.
Another position that was filled up in the election is the vice president of Strategic Ingredient Supply. Lucy Reid got elected to fill this position from her previous Director of Flavor Supply Ingredient and Product Governance role. Lucy Reid has been at the company since 1988 and has executed roles with Coca-Cola North America, Coca-Cola Refreshments, and Minute Maid. In her previous position, she was in charge of ingredients and formulas, stewardship, and strategic regulatory leadership for flavors for Coca-Cola trademarked products. Lucy Reid holds a Bachelor’s degree and Master’s degree from the University of Georgia. She is also on the board of governors for the Flavor Extract Manufacturers Association.