Neville Isdell

Mr. E. NEVILLE ISDELL is the former chairman and CEO of The Coca-Cola Company where he worked for 43 years. Mr. Isdell took the world’s largest beverage company to new heights during his tenure. He expanded on the company’s proud legacy of corporate responsibility by embedding sustainability throughout every facet of the organization and helping ensure its role as a community-connected twenty-first century enterprise. These efforts resulted in The Coca-Cola Company’s return to Fortune’s “World Most Admired Companies” list in 2006.In 2009, the company moved up to the #12 spot in the global ranking. A native of Ireland, Mr. Isdell joined The Coca-Cola Company in 1966 in Zambia, and in 1972, he became general manager of Coca-Cola Bottling of Johannesburg During his 43 year career, Mr Isdell worked in positions of increasing responsibility in The Philippines, Germany, London and Atlanta. After retiring in January 2002, Mr Isdell was an international consultant to The Coca-Cola Company until June 2004, when he came out of retirement to lead The Coca-Cola Company as chairman and CEO. Mr Isdell serves on the boards of a number of NGOs including CSIS, he is Chairman of the World Wildlife Fund USA, and is a member of the World Wildlife International Board of Trustees. He has recently been elected as Trustee of The Rhino Conservation of Botswana. Mr Isdell has previously served on the boards of public companies including General Motors, British Telecoms, SunTrust and The Investment Climate Facility of Africa where he was co-chair. In May 2016, Mr Isdell opened Epic Ireland, a 21st Century Museum telling the story of Irish people in Dublin, Ireland. Mr Isdell is a recipient of the Clinton Global Citizen Award as Beverage Industry man of the year in 2009. He received a bachelor’s degree in social sciences from the University of Cape Town and is a graduate of the Harvard Business School PMD. He is the recipient of four honorary degrees.