Edward Neville Isdell (born 8 June 1943) is an Irish businessman, former chair and CEO of

The Coca-Cola Company The Coca-Cola Company is an American multinational corporation founded in 1892. It manufactures, sells and markets soft drinks including Coca-Cola, other non-alcoholic beverage concentrates and syrups, and alcoholic beverages. Its stock is lis ...

and currently president of the WWF.

Early life and career

Isdell moved to

Zambia Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa. It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bor ...

at the age of ten, and joined the Coca-Cola Company in 1966 with the local bottling company there. In 1972, he became general manager of Coca-Cola Bottling of

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

, the largest Coca-Cola bottler in Africa. Isdell was named region manager for Australia in 1980, and in 1981 he became president of the bottling joint venture between The Coca-Cola Company and

San Miguel Corporation San Miguel Corporation (), abbreviated as SMC, is a Philippine multinational conglomerate with headquarters in Mandaluyong, Metro Manila. The company is one of the largest and most diversified conglomerates in the Philippines. Originally fo ...

in the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

, where he oversaw the turnaround and renewal of the Coca-Cola business in that key country. Isdell moved to (Germany) as president of the Company's Central European Division in 1985. In 1989, he was elected senior vice president of the Company and appointed president of the Northeast Europe/Africa Group (renamed the Northeast Europe/Middle East Group in 1992) and led the Company's entry into new markets in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

the Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

, Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. In 1995, he was named president of the Greater Europe Group. From July 1998 to September 2000, Isdell was chairman and CEO of Coca-Cola Beverages Plc in Great Britain, where he oversaw that company's merger with Hellenic Bottling to form the world's second largest Coca-Cola bottler at the time, Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company (HBC). He retired as vice chairman of Coca-Cola HBC in December 2001. From January 2002 to May 2004, Isdell was an international consultant to The Coca-Cola Company and headed his own investment company in

Barbados Barbados, officially the Republic of Barbados, is an island country in the Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies and the easternmost island of the Caribbean region. It lies on the boundary of the South American ...

. Isdell was chairman (2004–2009) and chief executive officer (2004–2008) of Coca-Cola. While CEO of Coca-Cola in 2007, Isdell earned a total compensation of $21,648,740, which included a base salary of $1,612,500, a cash bonus of $6,649,500, stocks granted of $5,200,017, and options granted of $7,369,657. Isdell is interim president of the World Wildlife Fund's international board of trustees and is on the board of a number of other charities. He has been on a number of corporate boards including General Motors and British Telecom. He holds five honorary doctorates and is a recipient of the Clinton Foundation Global Citizen Award. He is based together with his business interests in Barbados.

Education

Isdell earned a bachelor's degree in Social Science from the

University of Cape Town The University of Cape Town (UCT) (, ) is a public university, public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university status in 1918, making it the oldest univer ...

and graduated from the

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate school, graduate business school of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university. Located in Allston, Massachusetts, HBS owns Harvard Business Publishing, which p ...

program for Management Development. He was awarded an honorary doctorate degree from

Georgia State University Georgia State University (Georgia State, State, or GSU) is a Public university, public research university in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1913, it is one of the University System of Georgia's four research universities. It is al ...

Legacy

In 2011, Isdell donated $1 million to the rugby club of the University of Cape Town, of which he is an alumnus. In 2013, Isdell acquired the CHQ Building for €10 million, inside of which in 2016 he funded and launched EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum. In 2023, Isdell donated US$1.5 million to the

towards the Holistic Drug Discovery and Development Centre (H3D).

References

External links

Coca-Cola Profile

Forbes Profile
* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Isdell, E. Neville 1944 births Living people American chief executives of food industry companies American drink industry businesspeople Businesspeople from County Down Coca-Cola people People from Downpatrick University of Cape Town alumni Harvard Business School alumni