World War II
World Wildlife Fund (WWF)
World Youth Soccer Tournament
Yeltsin, Boris
Young, Tony
Zambia (Northern Rhodesia)
Coke bottling plants in
Crested Crane Hotel in
independence from Great Britain
Isdell in
Isdell’s leaving of
Isdell’s move to
Isdell’s return visit to
languages in
Lusaka, see Lusaka
poverty in
Zyman, Sergio
At age three in Belfast with my parents, Edward and Margaret. My father, a fingerprint specialist with the Royal Ulster Constabulary and an avid rugby player, longed to leave Northern Ireland and to ensure that I received a college education.
With my dog, Bunty, in Northern Ireland.
Playing rugby (center) for the University of Cape Town. Rugby has always been a major part of my life and taught me many lessons that were useful in the rough-and-tumble world of business.
The most important meeting of my life. Pamela and I met in Lusaka, Zambia, and were married there on January 10, 1970. We have been married for more than 41 years.
Conquering Pepsi in the Philippines. Jesus Celdran, nicknamed King King, was crucial to Coke’s turnaround in the Philippines. We are pictured here in Leyte in front of the monument to General Douglas MacArthur.
In front of the Coca-Cola sign in Moscow’s Pushkin Square in late 1989, shortly after the Berlin Wall fell and the first McDonald’s opened in Russia. It was the first commercial sign in Moscow, a harbinger of capitalism.
With Muhtar Kent (center) and Coca-Cola CEO and Chairman Roberto Goizueta, as we moved rapidly into Eastern Europe following the fall of the Berlin Wall.
With Jay Raja at the Taj Mahal in India. Jay was Coke’s point man during the reentry into India.
Awarding the Fulbright Prize to South African President Nelson Mandela in 1993.
Greeting Coca-Cola employees at the Atlanta headquarters in May 2004, when my appointment as CEO and Chairman was announced.
Pamela and me with Prince Charles. I would later have a disagreement with the prince over a nonprofit merger, which knocked me off the royal Christmas card list.
A second happy retirement. In Barbados, after retiring for the second time, with Pamela, our daughter, Cara, son-in-law, Zak Lee, and grandson, Rory.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
NEVILLE ISDELL is the former Chairman and CEO of Coca-Cola. Originally from Ireland, Isdell grew up in Zambia and attended college in South Africa. He now lives with his wife, Pamela, in Barbados.
DAVID BEASLEY is a writer based in Atlanta.
INSIDE COCA-COLA. Copyright © 2011 by Neville Isdell and David Beasley. Foreword copyright © 2011 by Pamela Isdell. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
www.stmartins.com
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Isdell, Edward Neville, 1943–
Inside Coca-Cola: a CEO’s life story of building the world’s most popular brand / Neville Isdell, with David Beasley.—1st ed.
p. cm.
Includes index.
e-ISBN 9781429988896
1. Isdell, Edward Neville, 1943– 2. Coca-Cola Company. 3. Chief executive officers—Biography. 4. Soft drink industry. I. Beasley, David, 1958– II. Title.
HD9349.S634C645 2011
338.7'66362092—dc23
[B] 2011026763
First Edition: November 2011
Inside Coca-Cola Page 24