Coca-Cola Names Kathy Waller Chief Financial Officer; Gary Fayard To Retire

(RTTNews) - Coca-Cola Co. (KO) on Thursday named Kathy Waller as its chief financial officer in place of Gary Fayard who will retire in May after two decades of service with the beverages giant.

The announcement comes as Coca-Cola wades through a tough global economic environment and stiff competition, marked by declining volumes in North America and some softness in emerging markets.

Waller currently serves as vice president, finance and controller, having joined the company in 1987 as a senior accountant. She subsequently became principal accountant for the Northeast Europe/Africa Group, followed by a role as marketing controller for the McDonald's division.

Since then, Waller has assumed more responsibilities including financial services for The Minute Maid Co. In 2004, Waller was named vice president and Chief of Internal Audit and in 2009 was appointed vice president and controller, a role that hewas expanded in 2013 into her current position.

Exiting CFO Fayard joined Coca-Cola in 1994 as vice president and controller and was promoted in 1999 as senior vice president and CFO. Fayard subsequently was promoted to his present role. Prior to joining Coca-Cola, Fayard served 19 years with Ernst & Young.

On Tuesday, Coca-Cola reported an 8 percent drop in fourth-quarter profit due to lower revenue even as volumes gained some momentum. The company indicated expanding its market share for nonalcoholic ready-to-drink beverages.

Earlier in the month, Coca-Cola acquired a 10 percent stake in Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (GMCR) as part of a 10-year deal to collaborate on the development of a Keurig Cold at-home beverage system. Coke agreed to acquire about 16.7 million shares of Green Mountain for about $1.25 billion.

Coca-Cola shares are trading at $37.33, up $0.23 or 0.62%, on a volume of 18.8 million shares on the NYSE.