Functional Leadership

Mr. Bernhard Goepelt is Senior Vice President and General Counsel of The Coca-Cola Company.

Mr. Goepelt joined The Coca-Cola Company in March 1992 as Legal Counsel for the German Division, based in Essen, Germany and was promoted Deputy Division Counsel in 1995.

In January 1997, Mr. Goepelt was appointed Legal Counsel for the Middle and Far East Group. He moved to Thailand in November 1998, where he was promoted to Division Legal Counsel and General Counsel, F&NCC Bottling in May 1999.

In January 2003, Mr. Goepelt was appointed Group Counsel for the Central Europe, Eurasia and Middle East Group, based in Vienna. In October of 2004, Mr. Goepelt was appointed Group Counsel for Japan, South Pacific and Korea, based in Tokyo. In June 2005, he assumed the position of General Counsel, Japan and China. Mr. Goepelt moved to Hong Kong in March of 2007 to assume the role of General Counsel, Pacific Group.

In April of 2010, he moved to Atlanta to become Associate General Counsel, Global Marketing, Commercial Leadership & Strategy. In September of 2010, he took on the additional responsibility of the General Counsel for the Pacific Group. In addition to his functional responsibilities, Mr. Goepelt managed the administration of the Legal Division. He was named to his current position in December 2011.

Following his legal studies, and his clerkship at the civil court in Essen, Germany, Mr. Goepelt received his German local bar admission in 1992. He finished his doctoral programme in 1994 with a thesis on freedom of speech and unfair competition.