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Constructively Discontent
Diversity is a continuous journey and not a set destination.
by Muhtar Kent, president and chief operating officer, The Coca-Cola Company
May 30, 2008
W
e recognize that we still have much work to do in advancing diversity across our system.
Quite frankly, we will always have much work to do. This is, after all, a continuous journey and
not a set destination.
We remain constructively discontent ... and always will. And that's because there is no more
important ingredient in that secret formula [that is Coca-Cola] than diversity. We've all heard
leaders talk about diversity in terms of business strategy, and social responsibility, and doing
the right thing.
In our case at The Coca-Cola Company, it's all that and more. Quite frankly it's the most
fundamental reality of our business.
Think about this: Our very name, "Coca-Cola," is the second most widely recognized word on
the planet. Only the word "okay" is understood by more people.
Coca-Cola isn't just a drink. It's an idea. A vision. A feeling, and a journey. Coca-Cola is
refreshment and connection. And it touches everyone around the world. It's a shared experience –
one of the few truly common threads that tie our diverse world
together.
I consider it a privilege to be associated with a company and its business partners who have
had such a profound effect on so many. I also consider it a privilege to have lived a life of such
rich diversity.
Like many of you this evening, most of my life has been seen through the lens of
multi-cultural diversity. I was born here in America ... the son of a Turkish diplomat. I was
raised in Thailand, India, Iran, Turkey, Sweden and Great Britain. The sights, sounds, cuisine and
people who inhabit these colorful places are forever ingrained in my mind and
heart.
I have then had the fortune to work in the U.S., Italy, Holland, Britain, Turkey, Austria,
and China and now back in the U.S. for The Coca-Cola Company.
My 30-year-career has afforded me the wonderful opportunity of working on every inhabited
continent and interacting with thousands of different cultures.
This past year alone, I spent a thousand hours in the air en-route to markets on every
corner of the planet.
The world I have seen ... the world many of you have seen ... is now the reality for most of
us. It's a rich, dynamic and diverse world – a world of infinitely more common ground than
differences. Here in the United States, the multi-cultural population now exceeds more than 100
million people.
In just two decades, it's projected that the minority here will be the majority. Similar
demographic and economic trends are playing out around the world. By 2020, the so-called E-7
economies of China, India, Brazil, Russia, Turkey, Indonesia and Mexico will rival the economic
clout of the industrialized G-7 nations.
By 2020, hundreds of millions of citizens from the emerging economies of the world will have
entered the middle class, bringing their voice and purchasing power to the market. In order to
compete and succeed in this environment ... our company, our business partners and our national
economy must seek inclusion.
Tapping the creative genius that lies within diversity ... and building winning cultures ...
will be the great business imperative of the 21st
century.
Everyone plays a role. Everyone contributes. Everyone is part of the Secret Formula of
diversity.
I want to thank you all again for being such great partners and for promoting – and more
importantly, acting on – the ideals of diversity.
Muhtar Kent, president and chief operating officer, The Coca-Cola Company, spoke at the
company's Living the Values Award Banquet in April. This article is an edited version of his
speech.
