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Coca-Cola Co. said Thursday it named Muhtar Kent president and chief operating officer, effective immediately.

Kent, a longtime Coca-Cola veteran, most recently served as president of Coca-Cola International, a position he has held since January 2006.

This puts Kent in the front line to replace chairman and chief executive Neville Isdell, who has led Coca-Cola through a transformation from its $192.5-million racial-discrimination lawsuit to becoming a national diversity leader, No. 3 in The 2006 Top 50 Companies for Diversity^® list. This transformation culminated in last Friday's court decision to disband the external diversity council supervising Coca-Cola's diversity efforts. To read all about the fall and rise of Coca-Cola's diversity efforts, look for the exclusive, behind-the-scenes coverage in the January/February issue of DiversityInc magazine (Subscribe now).

In his new position, Kent will oversee all of the company's worldwide operating units and will report to Isdell.

Steve Heyer, former president and COO, left the company in September 2004 after he was passed over in favor of Isdell for Coca-Cola's top position, and the position had remained unfilled since then.

Shares of Coca-Cola rose 20 cents to $48.58 in morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange. (AP)

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