Coca-Cola has named a successor to CEO James Quincey who will take the reins of the global beverage giant early next year.

Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Henrique Braun will become chief executive on March 31, with Quincey moving into the role of executive chairman, Coca-Cola said in a late Wednesday news release. Braun will also be nominated to serve as a member of the board and stand for election at next year’s annual meeting.

Quincey, 60, steps down as CEO after a 30-year career with the company, including nearly nine years as chief executive.

Quincey is credited with leading an overhaul of Coca-Cola and pushing into new product categories. The company said Coca-Cola has added 10 different brands with more than $1 billion in sales each to its portfolio under Quincey.

He also oversaw much of the company’s refranchising plan, where it sold off its bottling investments, and led Coca-Cola through the challenging COVID-19 pandemic.

“James set and executed a strategy that has built Coca-Cola’s status as a global leader,” David Weinberg, lead independent director of the beverage company’s board, said in the release.

Braun’s appointment to CEO was expected, said Duane Stanford, editor and publisher of trade publication Beverage Digest. Quincey and Braun started at Coca-Cola the same year — 1996, when Atlanta hosted the Olympic Games.

Braun, 57, was named chief operating officer in January, a clear sign he was taking a similar succession path that recent CEOs have at the company, including Quincey and Muhtar Kent, Stanford said.

“He’s been the heir apparent for at least a few years now,” Stanford said. “Coke’s had a very methodical succession planning approach.”

Braun will take the helm of a company with a market cap of more than $300 billion and that makes the bestselling soda in the U.S., its namesake Coca-Cola. Last year, Sprite surpassed rival Pepsi as the third-favorite carbonated soda.

But Braun will have to navigate a period of economic uncertainty that is putting pressure on consumers. He also jumps into the role as Coca-Cola weighs the potential sale of Costa Coffee and as it looks to expand its Fairlife milk brand.

Braun is well liked by the bottlers and has experience navigating inflationary environments, Stanford said. He also spent a lot of time working for Coca-Cola in Latin America, an important market for the company.

“Latin America is where some of the best ideas that are being used in the U.S now came from,” Stanford said, such as revenue sharing with the bottlers.

Braun was born in California and raised in Brazil, according to the company, and he earned a bachelor’s degree in agricultural engineering from the University Federal of Rio de Janeiro and a graduate degree from Michigan State University.

Among his Atlanta connections, Braun counts an MBA from Georgia State University.

“I’m honored to take on this new role and have tremendous appreciation for everything James has done to lead the company,” Braun said in the release. “I will focus on continuing the momentum we’ve built with our system. We’ll work to unlock future growth in partnership with our bottlers. I’m excited about the future of our business and see huge opportunities in a fast-changing global market.”

Quincey, during a December consumer and retail conference, offered a few words for his future successor.

“We’ve got to be proud of winning, but we must remain discontented about the future,” he said, referring to legendary Coca-Cola leader Robert Woodruff, who once said, “The future belongs to the discontented.”

“Like the better you do, the greater the risk you take your eye off the ball or you start celebrating your own success,” Quincey said. “That, I think, is the most important thing to keep drilling in because … you want to win again next year.”

Shares of Coca-Cola were mostly unchanged late Wednesday.

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