Luis Felipe Avellar has been appointed as the new president of The Coca‑Cola Company’s Africa operating unit, effective September 1. Avellar is currently serving as president of the company’s Mexico operations within the Latin America operating unit. He will take over from Luisa Ortega, who is moving to a new role as president of Coca‑Cola’s Europe operating unit.
Avellar will report directly to Henrique Braun, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at Coca‑Cola. Braun commented on the appointment: “Luis has had an outstanding career that has included extensive leadership roles in our Latin America operations. 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. Over time, he held several positions with increasing responsibility in Brazil before being named general manager of the Brazil South Region in 2016. In 2019, he moved to Johannesburg as vice president and general manager for Southern Africa. Two years later, he returned to Latin America as president of Brazil and South Cone operations and was appointed president of Mexico operations in 2023.
Before joining Coca‑Cola, Avellar began his career in 1998 with SC Johnson in Brazil’s finance department.
