The Coca‑Cola Company Announces New Leadership for Global Emerging Category

The Coca‑Cola Company announced today that Paula Costa will become president, Emerging Category, where she will oversee the development of the company’s global alcohol ready-to-drink portfolio.

Costa, who will join Coca‑Cola Jan. 1, 2025, succeeds Khalil Younes, who is leaving the company to pursue other opportunities. Younes has had an extensive career at Coca‑Cola, including a central role in building the company’s ARTD global portfolio.

Costa joins from Switzerland-based bottler Coca‑Cola HBC, where she has most recently served as group director, premium spirits. She has led distribution partnerships with international premium spirits brands, including Brown-Forman, Edrington Group and Bacardi. She has overseen the regional marketing team for Finlandia vodka in CCH territories, which was acquired in 2023.

Costa’s career has included roles across Europe and Latin America. She joined CCH in 2021 from Diageo, where she was vice president of marketing for Paraguay, Uruguay, Brazil and duty-free borders. She worked for Diageo from 2019 to 2021 and oversaw a portfolio that included Johnnie Walker, Smirnoff, Tanqueray, Gordon ́s, Ypioca and Bailey’s.

From 2017 to 2019, she was with Electrolux in Latin America, where she led the region’s marketing for large appliances. From 2014 to 2017, she worked for L’Oreal, serving as chief marketing officer and general manager for the Luxury division in Brazil.

Earlier, she held roles with Samsung Electronics in Brazil and Unilever in Brazil and the United Kingdom.

Younes’ career spans two different periods with Coca‑Cola. He re-joined the company in 2014 in Tokyo and spent five years as executive vice president, marketing and new businesses, Japan. Younes had a significant role in successfully launching Lemon-Dou, the first ARTD beverage of The Coca‑Cola Company, in 2018 in Japan. In 2021, he relocated to Atlanta to begin his current role as president of the global Emerging Category, leading the company’s global entries in the alcohol category.

Among his many achievements, Younes has been integral in establishing global strategic relationships in the ARTD space, including with Brown-Forman for Jack Daniel’s & Coca‑Cola; with Pernod Ricard for Absolut & Sprite; and, most recently, with Bacardi for Bacardi & Coca‑Cola.

Younes began his career in 1988 with Procter & Gamble in France. He joined Coca‑Cola in 1993 and held many roles of increasing responsibility in marketing and general management, including general manager of the company’s Hungary business unit. He was Fanta global brand director and, from 2008 to 2009, vice president global juice marketing.

In 2009, Younes left Coca‑Cola to join the Carlsberg Group in Copenhagen, Denmark, where he served as SVP Global Sales, Marketing and Innovation, with Commercial Development, Marketing and R&D global functions reporting to him.