{{short description|British businessman in the United States (born 1965)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2020}} {{Use British English|date=February 2020}} {{Infobox person | name = James Quincey | image = Macri & Quincey Davos 2018 01 (cropped).jpg | caption = Quincey in 2018 | birth_name = James Robert Quincey | birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=y|1965|1|8}}<ref name=aaa>{{cite web |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/people/person.asp?personId=24455827&privcapId=26642 |title=Stocks |publisher=Bloomberg |access-date=16 March 2017}}{{Dead link|date=June 2017}}</ref> | birth_place = London, England, UK | death_date = | death_place = | education = University of Liverpool (BSc) | title = Executive Chairman, The Coca-Cola Company | predecessor = Muhtar Kent | successor = | spouse = Jacqui Quincey | children = 2 }} '''James Robert B. Quincey''' (born 8 January 1965) is a British businessman based in the United States.<ref name="bbb">{{cite web |last=Shea |first=Kenneth |date=9 December 2016 |title=Coca-Cola COO James Quincey to Succeed Kent as CEO |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2016-12-09/coca-cola-coo-james-quincey-to-succeed-kent-as-ceo |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230927103650/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2016-12-09/coca-cola-coo-james-quincey-to-succeed-kent-as-ceo |archive-date=September 27, 2023 |access-date=28 June 2017 |website=Bloomberg Daybreak: Americas |publisher=Bloomberg}}</ref> After starting his career at Bain & Co,<ref name=yyy/> he joined The Coca-Cola Company in 1996<ref name=mmm/> and was later named chief operating officer (COO). He became the chief executive officer (CEO) in 2017 and the chairman of the board in 2019.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.coca-colacompany.com/our-company/operations-leadership-james-quincey|title=Senior Leadership: James Quincey|publisher=The Coca-Cola Company|access-date=23 July 2019|archive-date=23 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190723221632/https://www.coca-colacompany.com/our-company/operations-leadership-james-quincey|url-status=dead}}</ref>
==Early life== James Robert B. Quincey was born on 8 January 1965<ref name=bbb/> in London, England, UK and lived in Hanover, New Hampshire, US for three years when his father was a lecturer in biochemistry at Dartmouth College.<ref name="coca-colacompany1">{{cite web |last=Leith |first=Scott |url=http://www.coca-colacompany.com/stories/q-a-with-james-quincey |title=A Q&A with James Quincey |publisher=The Coca-Cola Company |date=13 August 2015 |access-date=16 March 2017 |archive-date=27 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190927080419/https://www.coca-colacompany.com/stories/q-a-with-james-quincey |url-status=dead }}</ref> By age five, they had moved to Birmingham, England. He attended private King Edward's School, Birmingham and has a bachelor's degree in electronic engineering from the University of Liverpool.<ref name="coca-colacompany1"/> He is fluent in Spanish.<ref name=yyy/><ref name=mmm/><ref name=eee/>
==Career== ===Joining Coca-Cola=== After working with Bain & Co and a smaller consultancy,<ref name=yyy/> he joined Coca-Cola in 1996.<ref name=mmm/> With Coke, he has lived in Latin America<ref name=eee>{{cite news |url=http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/news/2016/12/12/former-coke-ceo-isdell-endorses-james-quincey-as.html |title=Former Coke CEO Isdell endorses James Quincey as next CEO |last=Saporta |first=Maria |date=12 December 2016 |newspaper=Atlanta Business Chronicle |access-date=28 June 2012 }}</ref> and worked in Mexico, where he led the acquisition of Jugos del Valle.<ref name=mmm/> In 2015, Quincey became the president of Coca-Cola.<ref name=vvv>{{cite news |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/coke-president-james-quincey-works-behind-the-scenes-to-cut-costs-reverse-flagging-soda-sales-1450002604 |title=Coke President James Quincey Works Behind the Scenes to Cut Costs, Reverse Flagging Soda Sales |last=Esterl |first=Mike |date=13 December 2015 |newspaper=The Wall Street Journal |access-date=28 June 2017 }}</ref><ref name="fff">{{cite news |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/coca-cola-names-james-quincey-president-and-chief-operating-officer-1439468736 |title=Coke CEO Gets a Deputy, and Possible Successor |last=Esterl |first=Mike |date=13 August 2015 |newspaper=The Wall Street Journal |access-date=28 June 2017 }}</ref> He outlined a plan to have five category clusters for brands in the company.<ref name="ggk">{{Citation|last=Farrell|first=Paul|title=Bank of America Beats|date=22 April 2017|url=http://www.barrons.com/articles/bank-of-america-beats-1492834728|work=Barrons|access-date=28 June 2017}}</ref> He also changed management and the entire Coke hierarchy.<ref name=hhh>{{Citation |last=Sarkari |first=John |date=4 January 2017 |title=Coca-Cola launches major senior mgmt shakeup |work=The Times of India |url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/coca-cola-launches-major-senior-mgmt-shakeup/articleshow/56321603.cms |access-date=28 June 2017}}</ref>
===Chairman and CEO=== [[File:Transforming the Plastics Economy.webm|thumb|Quincey in a discussion about plastic pollution. Video from World Economic Forum.]] He was named CEO in December 2016.<ref name=iii>{{cite web |url=https://easterndaily.com/coke-chooses-new-ceo/ |title=Coke Chooses New CEO in 2017: James Quincey |last=Reid |first=Rakim |date=12 December 2016 |publisher=Eastern Daily News |access-date=28 June 2017 |archive-date=17 February 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180217083136/https://easterndaily.com/coke-chooses-new-ceo/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name=jjj>{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSFWN1E40D0 |title=BRIEF-Coca-Cola says James Quincey to succeed Muhtar Kent as CEO in May 2017 |date=9 December 2016 |work=Reuters}}</ref><ref name=kkk>{{cite web |url=http://www.nasdaq.com/video/james-quincey-to-become-new-coca-cola-ceo-in-2017-584b185fc4d21f7ade666d56 |title=James Quincey to Become New Coca-Cola CEO in 2017 |publisher=NASDAQ}}</ref><ref name=lll>{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-coca-cola-moves-ceo-idUSKBN13Y1O3 |title=Coke CEO Muhtar Kent hands reins to Quincey in widely expected move |date=9 December 2016 |work=Reuters}}</ref> He became CEO the following May when Muhtar Kent retired. Among his first acts as CEO, he announced reducing 1,200 corporate positions as part of a plan to invest in new products and marketing and restore the year's revenue and profit growth from four to six percent.<ref name="mmm">{{Citation |last=Grantham |first=Russell |title=New CEO's challenge: Make things go better with Coke |date=6 May 2017 |url=http://www.seattletimes.com/business/new-ceos-challenge-make-things-go-better-with-coke/ |work=The Seattle Times |access-date=28 June 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230927104156/https://www.seattletimes.com/business/new-ceos-challenge-make-things-go-better-with-coke/ |url-status=live |archive-date=September 27, 2023}}</ref> Quincey also said in interviews that he wanted to rid the Coke company's culture of over-cautiousness concerning risk,<ref name=ooo>{{Citation |last=Jennifer |first=Maloney |date= 9 May 2017|title= Coke's New CEO James Quincey to Staff: Make Mistakes|work=The Wall Street Journal |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/cokes-new-ceo-james-quincey-to-staff-make-mistakes-1494356502 |access-date=28 June 2017}}</ref> and that he intended to further diversify Coke's portfolio by accelerating investments in startup businesses.<ref name=nnn>{{Citation |last=Whipp |first=Lindsay |date=9 May 2017 |title=New Coca-Cola CEO to increase start-up investments |work=Financial Times |url=https://www.ft.com/content/d7718eae-34e3-11e7-bce4-9023f8c0fd2e |access-date=28 June 2017}}</ref> He later launched a plan to recycle a bottle for every bottle sold by 2030.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-01-19/coke-moves-to-expand-recycling-as-pressure-mounts-to-cut-plastic|title=Coke Plans to Recycle a Bottle for Every One It Sells by 2030 |author=Jennifer Kaplan and Anna Hirtenstein |date=19 January 2018 |website=Bloomberg LP |access-date=22 February 2019}}</ref> On 24 April 2019, Quincey was elected chairman of the board.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/people/person.asp?personId=24455827&privcapId=26642|title=James Robert B. Quincey: Executive Profile & Biography|publisher=Bloomberg L.P.|access-date=23 July 2019}}</ref> In December 2021 Quincey announced the planned discontinuation of many of its slower selling products, such as Tab and Zico coconut water.<ref>[https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/13/business/risk-takers-james-quincey/index.html CNN: December 13th, 2021: Business:Risk Takers, Coca Cola's James Quincey:He killed some of Coke's most beloved brands. And he'd do it all over again]</ref>
In 2023, Quincey's total compensation from Coca-Cola was $24.7 million, or 1,799 times the median employee pay at Coca-Cola for that year.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Anderson |first=Sarah |date=2024-08-29 |title=Executive Excess 2024: The "Low Wage 100" corporations are enriching CEOs at the expense of workers and long-term investment |url=https://ips-dc.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/executive_excess_2024_ips_report.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240829154904/https://ips-dc.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/executive_excess_2024_ips_report.pdf |archive-date=2024-08-29 |access-date=2024-08-31 |website=Institute for Policy Studies}}</ref>
In 2025, Quincey gifted President Donald Trump with the Coca-Cola company's first custom Diet Coke bottle to honor his inauguration.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Ahn |first=Ashley |date=2025 |title=Coca-Cola toasts Trump's inauguration with custom bottle despite rocky history |url=https://www.ajc.com/politics/national-politics/coke-toasts-trumps-inauguration-with-commemorative-bottle-despite-rocky-history/NER4VQ2YLVHRLCJWA5OIKM226Y/ |work=The Atlanta Journal-Constitution |language=English |issn=1539-7459}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-01-16 |title=Can Donald Trump inauguration gift reignite Coca-Cola vs Pepsi war? |url=https://www.euronews.com/culture/2025/01/16/strange-donald-trump-inauguration-gift-could-reignite-coca-cola-vs-pepsi-war |website=euronews |language=en}}</ref>
On 10 December 2025, it was announced that Quincey will step down as chief executive officer and will be succeeded by chief operating officer Henrique Braun, effective 31 March 2026. Quincey will then transition to the role of executive chairman.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Coca-Cola Company Announces CEO Succession Plan|work=The Coca-Cola Company|url=https://www.coca-colacompany.com/media-center/the-coca-cola-company-announces-ceo-succession-plan|date=2025-12-10|accessdate=2025-12-12}}</ref>
==Personal life== Quincey and his wife Jacqui have two children and live in London, UK.<ref name="yyy">{{Citation |last=Whipp |first=Lindsay |title=James Quincey, Coca-Cola CEO, on why brands have to take a stand |date=21 May 2017 |url=https://www.ft.com/content/5b4921e0-39aa-11e7-821a-6027b8a20f23 |work=Financial Times |access-date=28 June 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230927103844/https://www.ft.com/content/5b4921e0-39aa-11e7-821a-6027b8a20f23 |url-status=live |archive-date=September 27, 2023 |url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref name="coca-colacompany1"/>
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{s-start}} {{s-bus}} {{s-bef|rows=2|before=Muhtar Kent}} {{s-ttl|title=Chair of The Coca-Cola Company|years=April 2019–Incumbent}} {{s-inc}} {{s-ttl|title=CEO of The Coca-Cola Company|years=December 2016–March 2026}} {{s-aft|after=Henrique Braun}} {{s-end}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Quincey, James}} Category:1965 births Category:Living people Category:American chief executives in the food industry Category:Coca-Cola people Category:People educated at King Edward's School, Birmingham Category:Alumni of the University of Liverpool Category:Businesspeople from London