Coca-Cola Appoints Luis Felipe Avellar as New President for Africa Operations

The Coca-Cola Company has announced the appointment of Luis Felipe Avellar as President of its Africa operating unit, effective 1 September.

Avellar currently serves as President of Coca-Cola’s Mexico operations, part of the Latin America operating unit. He will succeed Luisa Ortega, who, as previously announced, will become President of the company’s Europe operating unit. Avellar will report directly to Coca-Cola Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Henrique Braun.

“Luis has had an outstanding career that has included extensive leadership roles in our Latin America operations,” said Braun. “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.”

Avellar, 49, joined Coca-Cola in 2002 as a finance specialist in Brazil. He went on to hold a range of senior roles in the country, becoming General Manager of the Brazil South Region in 2016.

In 2019, he was appointed Vice President and General Manager for Southern Africa, based in Johannesburg. Two years later, he returned to Latin America as President of Brazil and South Cone operations. In 2023, he assumed his current position leading Coca-Cola’s Mexico operations.

Before joining Coca-Cola, Avellar began his career in 1998 in finance with SC Johnson in Brazil. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in economics from the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, an executive MBA in finance from the same university, and most recently completed the Advanced Management Programme at IESE Business School in Spain.