The Mexican company Coca-Cola FEMSA (KOF) selected 10 of its directors and prepared a profile of each of them.
They are:
John Santa Maria Otazua, CEO of KOF
He joined the company in 1995 and, as of 2014, holds his current position. With 39 years of experience in the beverage industry, he held various management positions in our organization, such as Director of Operations for the South America Division, the Mexico Division, and in other senior leadership functional areas such as Strategic Planning, Business Development, and Mergers and Acquisitions.
He is a member of the boards of directors of Compartamos Banco, Coca-Cola FEMSA and Fundación FEMSA. He has bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Finance from Southern Methodist University.
Constantino Spas Montesinos, CFO
He joined Coca-Cola FEMSA in 2018 as Director of Strategic Planning and, as of 2019, holds his current position.
He has more than 26 years of experience in the food and beverage sector in Latin America, with a proven track record in companies such as Bacardí, Kraft Foods, SAB Miller, Grupo Mavesa and Empresas Polar.
He has a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the Metropolitan University of Caracas, Venezuela, and a master’s degree in Administration from Goizueta Business School in Atlanta, Georgia.
Karina Paola Awad Pérez, Human Resources Director of KOF
She joined Coca-Cola FEMSA in 2018 to fill her current position.
She has almost 30 years of experience in the Human Resources area, since she previously worked as Senior Vice President of Human Resources for Walmart Mexico and Central America, and Vice President of Human Resources for Walmart Chile.
She is a member of the International Women’s Forum in Mexico and has received multiple awards for her female leadership and for her contribution and influence in the field of Human Resources in Latin America. She has a degree in Psychology from the Catholic University of Chile and a master’s degree from the Adolfo Ibáñez School of Administration in Miami. She also has an executive coach certification from the Newfield Network.
Bruno Juanes Gárate, Director of Business Development
He joined Coca-Cola FEMSA in 2021 in his current position. He has more than 30 years of experience in digital transformation, innovation, business model design and management consulting.
He previously served as General Director for Latin America in the Management Consulting Division at NTTData, Chief Digital Innovation Officer, Core Business Operations Portfolio Leader, and member of the executive committee of Deloitte Consulting Mexico and Director of Digital Transformation of Grupo Xignux.
He has a degree in Organic Chemistry from the Autonomous University of Madrid, a master’s degree in Molecular Biology from the University of California, Berkeley and completed the General Management Program at IESE in Madrid.
María del Carmen Alanis Figueroa, director of corporate affairs
She joined Coca-Cola FEMSA in 2021 to fill her current position. With more than 30 years of experience in the public sector, she was Executive Director of Electoral Training and Civic Education, and Executive Secretary of the Federal Electoral Institute, as well as Magistrate and President of the Electoral Court of the Judicial Power of the Federation.
She also served as Mexico’s representative to the European Commission (Venice Commission), Mexico’s representative to the Belém do Pará Convention Follow-up Mechanism, and consultant for Latin America for the Kofi Annan Foundation. She obtained a master’s degree in Comparative Government from the London School of Economics and a doctorate in law from the National Autonomous University of Mexico.
Rafael Ramos Casas, director of supply chain and engineering
He joined Coca-Cola FEMSA in 1999, and was appointed to his current position in 2018.
He has more than 31 years of experience in the beverage industry and previously held various management positions, including Director of Manufacturing for Southeast Mexico, Director of Manufacturing and Logistics, Director of Supply Chain for Mexico and Central America and Director of Supply Chain. Supply at FEMSA Comercio.
He has a degree in Biochemical Engineering and a master’s degree in Agribusiness from the EGADE Business School of ITESM.
Ignacio Echevarría Mendiguren, Chief Information Officer of KOF
He joined Coca-Cola FEMSA in 2018 and was assigned to his current position in 2021.
With more than 25 years of experience in the IT industry, he previously held positions in this area at the Coca-Cola System, where he coordinated various IT strategy and digital transformation projects, developing and implementing solutions in Spain (Cobega), Africa (Equatorial Bottler Company) and Europe (Coca-Cola Europacific Partners).
He also served as a member of the management committee of Grupo Telynet, a multi-platform, multi-category omnichannel solutions development company with operations in the Americas, Europe, and Africa. Ignacio Echevarría has a degree in Industrial Engineering, specializing in Industrial Organization and a master’s degree from the Instituto de Empresa in Madrid.
Fabricio Ponce García, director of operations Mexico
He joined Coca-Cola FEMSA in 1998 and, in 2019, he was appointed to his current position.
He has more than 23 years of experience in the beverage industry, having previously held various senior management positions, such as Director of Operations in the Philippines, General Director in Central America, Argentina and Colombia, and Director of Planning for Latin America.
Before joining Coca-Cola FEMSA, he was General Director of Heineken in Brazil and senior consultant at Bain & Company. He completed a bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Engineering and a master’s degree in Economics at INCAE in Costa Rica.
Ian M. Craig Garcia, Director of Brazil Operations
He joined Coca-Cola FEMSA in 2003 and has held his current position since 2016.
He has more than 27 years of experience in the beverage industry, and previously held other management positions, including Director of Operations in Argentina, Director of Finance and Strategic Planning of the South America Division, Director of Finance, Planning and Corporate Affairs in the region. Mercosur, and Corporate Director of Finance and Treasury at Coca-Cola FEMSA.
He has a degree in Industrial Engineering from ITESM and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, and a master’s degree in International Business Law from ITESM.
Eduardo G. Hernández Peña, Director of Operations Latin America Division
He joined Coca-Cola FEMSA in 2015 and has held his current position since 2018.
With more than 32 years of experience in the beverage industry, he previously held various management positions, including Director of Strategic Planning and Director of New Business at Coca-Cola FEMSA.
Before joining Coca-Cola FEMSA, he was General Director of Gloria Alimentos and Director of the Beer Division at Empresas Polar, in Venezuela. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the Universidad Metropolitana de Caracas, Venezuela, and an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.
