Mr Luis Felipe Avellar has been appointed to head the operations of Coca-Cola in Africa, which has its headquarters in South Africa, succeeding Ms Luisa Ortega, who is taking a new role as president of the company’s Europe operating unit.
A statement from the manufacturer of several notable beverages disclosed that Mr Avellar will report to Coca-Cola Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Henrique Braun.
However, he will resume his new role from September 1, 2025, as he currently serves as president of the company’s Mexico operations, which are part of the Latin America operating unit.
“Luis has had an outstanding career that has included extensive leadership roles in our Latin America operations,” Braun said. “Luis also has experience working for our company in Africa, and I’m excited to see him return to Johannesburg to build on the system’s ongoing work to serve the growing African market.”
Mr Avellar, 49, started his career at Coca-Cola in 2002 as a finance specialist in Brazil. He went on to serve in a variety of roles of increasing responsibility in Brazil before being named general manager of the Brazil South Region in 2016.
In 2019, he took a new role as vice president and general manager for Southern Africa, based in Johannesburg. Two years later, he returned to Latin America to serve as president of Brazil and South Cone operations. He was named to his current role in Mexico in 2023.
Mr Avellar began his career in 1998 in the finance function with SC Johnson in Brazil. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in economics from the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro. He later earned an executive MBA in finance from the same university. Most recently, he completed the Advanced Management Program at IESE Business School in Spain.