The Coca-Cola Co. Brings Back Former Exec to Lead North America Business
The Coca-Cola Co. has announced that former executive Rob Gehring will return to the company and take the role of president of the North America operating unit, effective Dec. 1, 2026.
Gehring steps in and takes the reins from John Murphy, who has served as leader of the North America business on an interim basis since Aug. 1, 2026. Murphy will remain president and chief financial officer following the transition, the company said.
Gehring will leave his post as CEO, Americas, for Monster Energy Co., to return to Coca-Cola — a role he accepted in February 2026. Gehring joined Monster in 2024 as chief growth officer.
He began his career at Coca-Cola in sales and marketing in 1992 and worked his way up the ladder across the U.S. and Canadian businesses. Gehring was president of the company’s Walmart global team from 2011-2016.
In 2016, he left The Coca-Cola Co., however, and became global chief sales officer for The Hershey Co. He joined Swire Coca-Cola USA in 2018, where he was initially named to the COO role but was promoted to president and CEO of the bottling company.
About the Author
Andy Hanacek
Senior Editor
Andy Hanacek has covered meat, poultry, bakery and snack foods as a B2B editor for nearly 20 years, and has toured hundreds of processing plants and food companies, sharing stories of innovation and technological advancement throughout the food supply chain. In 2018, he won a Folio:Eddie Award for his unique "From the Editor's Desk" video blogs, and he has brought home additional awards from Folio and ASBPE over the years. In addition, Hanacek led the Meat Industry Hall of Fame for several years and was vice president of communications for We R Food Safety, a food safety software and consulting company.