2 long-time Coca-Cola board members to retire
Long-time Coca-Cola board members Donald Keough and James Williams to retire in April
ATLANTA (AP) -- The Coca-Cola Co. said Thursday that long-time board members Donald Keough and James Williams will not stand for reelection and will retire from the board after the company's annual meeting in April.
Keough, 86, served as the Atlanta-based beverage company's president and chief operating officer from 1981 to 1993 during the height of the cola wars with PepsiCo. He also served as the head of Coca-Cola's foods division from 1971 to 1973 and chairman of bottler Coca-Cola Enterprises from 1986 to 1993.
After retiring as president, chief operating officer and a director in 1993, Keough rejoined the board as a director in 2004.
Williams, 79, has served as a Coca-Cola director since 1979 and as chairman of the board's finance committee since 1985. He's also a former chairman and CEO of SunTrust Banks Inc.
SunTrust financed the sale of Coca-Cola in 1919 and kept the company's secret formula for Coca-Cola in an Atlanta vault for more than 80 years, the company said.
Coca-Cola shares fell a penny to close Thursday trading at $37.72.
