Atlanta, July 22, 2004 - - The Board of Directors of The Coca-Cola Company today elected Chuck Fruit and Cynthia McCague as senior vice presidents of the Company.
Separately, the Board of Directors today declared a regular quarterly dividend of 25 cents per common share. The dividend is payable on October 1, 2004, to share owners of record as of September 15, 2004.
Mr. Fruit was named chief marketing officer of the Company in June. He is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the Company's worldwide marketing and brand building, as well as providing leadership and guidance to a diverse network of Coca-Cola marketing professionals responsible for communicating with consumers in local markets all over the world.
Mr. Fruit joined the Company in 1991 as head of Global Media Services and has held positions of steadily increasing responsibility. Most recently, he was senior vice president, Integrated Marketing, Coca-Cola Marketing Division, with responsibility for developing the Company's worldwide media and sponsorship strategies and its investments in all forms of traditional and emerging media platforms. He also served as acting chief marketing officer in 2003. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Fruit spent 15 years with Anheuser-Busch Cos. He has served as a national director of both the American Advertising Federation and the Association of National Advertisers, and is presently on the boards of the Advertising Council, Inc., TiVo, Inc., and College Sports Television (CSTV). Mr. Fruit holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science from Williams College in Massachusetts.
Ms. McCague re-joined the Company in June as the director of Human Resources. In this role, she is responsible for leading all aspects of the Company's worldwide human resources management, and will develop and implement strategies that ensure the organization builds the capability to deliver desired business results.
Ms. McCague brings 30 years of human resources and business experience to the Company. She began her career with the Company in 1982 and has served in a number of roles with increasing responsibility in the corporate headquarters, operating units and the bottling system. She was appointed director of Human Resources for the Company's European Union operations in 1989. Ms. McCague joined Coca-Cola Beverages as director of Human Resources in 1998 during the creation of that publicly listed bottling company. She was appointed Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company's group human resources director in February 2000, with responsibility for Human Resources in a company with 37,000 employees. Ms. McCague holds a bachelor's degree in Journalism and Communication from the University of Florida.