Selman Careaga
President, ASEAN & South Pacific Operating Unit
Selman Careaga is president of the ASEAN & South Pacific operating unit of The Coca‑Cola Company. In this role, he leads a team that covers a variety of developed and developing markets across Southeast Asia and the South Pacific.
Prior to this role, Careaga was president of the Coca‑Cola Global Category, where he led global strategy, innovation and marketing/digital platforms for the company’s flagship brand. Under his leadership, the Coca‑Cola Trademark achieved record-high value share and returned to the top 10 of Kantar’s world’s most valuable brands.
A 20-year veteran of the Coca‑Cola system, Careaga has served in various marketing, operations and leadership roles.
Careaga began his career at the company in 2004 in Mexico in marketing. In 2009, he led global marketing for Sprite and Fanta. He relocated to Mexico in 2014 as vice president of marketing, where he led strategic marketing for the group’s total beverage portfolio. Careaga was later appointed general manager of sparkling and hydration.
In 2018, Careaga became vice president of marketing for Coca‑Cola Brazil, where he led strategic marketing, the innovation pipeline and consumer platforms across the sparkling and stills portfolios. Careaga was later named president of the sparkling business unit for Coca‑Cola North America.
Careaga earned an engineering degree from Tecnologico de Monterrey in Mexico and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.