Commitment to Shape an Even Better Future

Muhtar Kent, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, The Coca-Cola Company
Annual Meeting of Shareowners
Atlanta, GA
April 27, 2011

WOW - how about those young men and women of the Coca-Cola 125th Anniversary Chorus! Weren't they just terrific?

Those young vocalists come from all over the Atlanta area and as far away as New York City. We're honored to have them with us today, along with their musical director Francisco Núñez.

Francisco and many of the artists you just heard have toured the world... captured numerous international awards... and performed before sell-out audiences at the Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall and major concert halls from Tokyo to Prague.

We brought them together today to help us celebrate our 125th anniversary year at Coca-Cola, and to honor you, our great shareowners.

So, good afternoon, and welcome to the 2011 Annual General Meeting of The Coca-Cola Company. We're honored you could join us, and we're delighted to be here at the beautiful Cobb Galleria. This now marks our third year in a row to conduct our Annual General Meeting in Metro Atlanta.

We thought it was only appropriate to be here this year to say "thank you" to our Atlanta shareowners and this remarkable community that Coca-Cola has called home for the past 125 years. And because of Coca-Cola's birthday, this is going to be a very special meeting, I can assure you. Our chorus will be back later to help us propose a toast to our 125th anniversary.

But some things, of course, won't change. You're going to get a full report on our business - where we've been and where we're headed. And, of course, we're going to hear from you and answer your questions.

Ladies and gentlemen, what you just saw is essentially our report card for this past year. Our global system is on the move today. Our brands are healthy. Our reputation is strong. Our investments are on the rise around the world. Our system is solidly aligned and executing toward our 2020 Vision of doubling our business over the next 10 years. North America is growing again. And our stock - and your investment - is up xx percent since this meeting last year.

We're certainly grateful to the outstanding 700,000 men and women of the Coca-Cola system for leading these efforts, and to each of you for your invaluable support and confidence in our Company.

But make no mistake - we're not about to take a victory lap. In fact, we're just getting started. We've just scratched the surface of our potential. We remain today as energized and optimistic as Dr. John Pemberton must have been back on May 8th, 1886.

Just a few blocks from our present-day North Avenue headquarters, Dr. Pemberton walked through the doors of Jacobs Pharmacy on Marietta Street and poured the very first serving of his latest invention, Coca-Cola.

What transpired on that warm and sunny Atlanta afternoon a century and a quarter ago was more than just the birth of a delicious and refreshing soft drink. It was the beginning of the greatest brand-building journey the world has ever known.

The fact that we are a thriving business nearly 125 years later is a testament to our youth, not our age.

Indeed, when the average Fortune 1000 company today is less than 40 years old, I believe there is something very, very special about a 125-year young enterprise that is in a state of constant renewal.

Renewal is part of our DNA - handed down over the years by Dr. Pemberton and many other giant leaders of our company and system.

Our founders lived by the values of the "constructively discontent." Consider this: Dr. Pemberton started no less than 18 businesses before inventing Coca-Cola. Risk or failure never daunted him. And through his inspired actions and those of people like Asa Candler, Robert Woodruff, Paul Austin, Roberto Goizueta, Don Keough and many, many others- we have all learned the virtues of dedication, passion and hard-work.

Our commitment to shape a better future is perhaps the greatest legacy given to each and every one of us. This commitment is the very foundation upon which our 2020 Vision is built, and it is driving the results you just saw.

Beyond all the positive trends, numbers and dynamics shaping our industry over the next 10 years, there is a simple truth that reminds us every single day why we at Coca-Cola love our business and our system so much.

It's what we see in the course of our daily lives. It's a world yearning not just for the beverages we provide but the ideals and values Coca-Cola represents.

I've seen these ideals play out first hand, hundreds of times, in all corners of the globe.

Last year, I was in Hohhot, a city in Inner Mongolia, to help open a new bottling plant. Now, for the record, Hohhot isn't exactly on the beaten path in China. It sits in the heart of the nation's dairy country, where the northern grasslands meet the edge of the Gobi Desert. There's a haunting beauty to the landscape and a great sense of enterprise among its people. Like much of rural China, it's a region in transition as China's government tries to open its lesser developed provinces for greater development and trade.

While I was there, I sensed from talking to government leaders, shopkeepers, employees and their families that this was a community they believed in. A community of tremendous promise. A place destined for a better tomorrow. And, of course, they wanted Coca-Cola to be part of their future.

Our plant openings in both Hohhot and Luohe city had the atmosphere of a Super Bowl. They were significant moments - moments I will never forget.

We've witnessed similar stories playing out in places like Ramallah, in the Palestinian Territory, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Haiti, Egypt and dozens of nations around the world.

Just a few weeks ago I was struck by a great piece of photo-journalism that appeared on the front page of the New York Times. Maybe some of you saw it, too. It was a shot of the internet leaders of the protest movement in Egypt. In the photo, a group of young - and highly influential - men and women were huddled around their Apple computers in the late hours of the night. The room was dark and cluttered and smoky. But right next to the Apple computer - circled there in the center of the photograph - were cans of Coca-Cola for all the world to see.

In these places and so many others, we sense the optimism, and the belief that a better day is coming. Not just a better business day but a better day for society, communities and humanity.

We've always believed that Coca-Cola represents that optimism, that magical force that underscores and celebrates our humanity. And we truly believe that's our secret formula.

Late last month, we saw that same hope and optimism shine through even in the midst of the tragedies unfolding in Japan. Company Directors James Robinson, Herb Allen, and I traveled to Japan to be with our grief-stricken employees and bottlers.

We were deeply moved by what we saw and by Japan's endless supply of faith and resolve. I am proud to say that our people also stepped up in a major way to help our bottling associates and consumers in Japan whose homes and livelihoods were devastated by the earthquakes and tsunami.

Like we have done in so many instances of natural tragedy around the world, The Coca-Cola Company was among the first-responders, providing fresh water and other much-needed supplies for the Japanese people. Our Company has also contributed $31 million dollars in aid to help with Japan's reconstruction.

History has shown, over and over, that no society is more adept at rebuilding... refining... and reinventing - than Japan. In the months and years to come, we'll be there for Japan, every step of the way. Just as we'll continue to be there for Atlanta... Auckland... Astana... and millions of other communities in more than 200 countries around the world that we are privileged to serve each and every day.

So, today, as we continue our journey toward 2020...

1. We do so from a position of incredible strength.
2. We do so with a powerful vision and dedicated partners in our business.
3. We do so with the world's most-recognized, beloved and refreshing beverage - Coca-Cola.
4. And we do so with the world's most diverse, passionate, committed and creative people.

We look forward to continuing to share our story with you.

There is no greater responsibility than earning your trust and confidence. Rest assured we will work tirelessly to keep our commitments and protect and grow the value of your investment in our Company.

Thank you very much.