Outlook Business Desk
Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages (HCCB), Coca-Cola’s largest bottling arm in India, has appointed Hemant Rupani as its new CEO. He will take charge on 8 September 2025, the company announced on Tuesday.
Hemant Rupani will succeed Juan Pablo Rodriguez, who became HCCB’s CEO in August 2022 and is now moving to a new role within the Coca-Cola system. Rupani will report directly to the HCCB board of directors.
Hemant Rupani will join HCCB after a nine-year stint at Mondelez International, a global snacking giant known for brands like Cadbury, Oreo, and Belvita. He currently heads Mondelez’s Southeast Asia as business unit president, overseeing key commercial operations across markets like Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand.
Hemant Rupani began his career in 1997 with Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) India. He joined PepsiCo in 1999 and briefly moved to Infosys Technologies in 2002. In 2004, he returned to PepsiCo, becoming Senior Vice President, Customer Marketing, India Beverages.
Hemant Rupani joined Vodafone in 2010, then moved to Britannia Industries in 2014 as Vice President of Sales and Business Head for the Breads Division. In 2016, he joined Mondelez as Sales Director for India and later became Vice President and Managing Director for Vietnam, before being elevated to his current regional leadership role in 2022.
Hemant Rupani holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Regional Engineering College, Jaipur, and an MBA in marketing from the Faculty of Management Studies (FMS), University of Delhi.
HCCB runs 13 factories and serves 236 districts across 12 states in southern and western India. In December 2024, Coca-Cola announced that Jubilant Bhartia Group would acquire a 40% stake in HCCB’s parent, Hindustan Coca-Cola Holdings.
Apart from HCCB, Coca-Cola partners with 11 major bottlers across India. Its brand portfolio in the country features popular names like Coca-Cola, Thums Up, Sprite, Fanta and Minute Maid.
With decades of fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) experience, global exposure, and deep India market insight, Hemant Rupani is set to lead HCCB’s next phase of growth as CEO, starting September 2025.