Coca-Cola, one of the country's leading beverage companies, has announced Ju-un Nahar Choudhury as the new Managing Director of Coca-Cola Bangladesh Limited. She is the first Bangladeshi woman to take on the role of Managing Director for Coca-Cola Bangladesh Ltd. In this role, Choudhury will work closely with bottling and business partners, customers and other external stakeholders in the country. She started her career with Unilever as a management trainee in marketing, and left her mark in various roles including leading the team who won a Guinness world record for the nationwide ‘Lifebuoy handwashing washing campaign’ covering 86,000 youth simultaneously in over 60 locations, said the comps on Monday. She moved to Indonesia in 2014 with Reckitt Benckiser looking after the Dettol business. She also worked with Danone Indonesia as Head of Innovation and then joined aCommerce, an end-to-end ecommerce enabler present across seven ASEAN countries, as the FMCG director. Read more: Nahida Akter emerges as first Bangladeshi to win 'ICC Women's Player of the Month' award After spending eight years in Indonesia, Choudhury moved back to Bangladesh and joined Apex as marketing director in 2023. Speaking on her appointment, Ju-un Nahar Choudhury, Managing Director, Coca-Cola Bangladesh said, “I am delighted to join the Coca-Cola system and partner with our bottling partners, Coca-Cola Bangladesh Beverages (CCBB) & Abdul Monem Limited (AML), and other stakeholders to refresh our consumers in Bangladesh." She also said, "I am humbled to lead Bangladesh on this Coca-Cola journey and I am committed to steer our brands and franchise operations to new heights.” Choudhury is the first woman to be appointed to this position in Bangladesh and will be replacing former Managing Director, Ta Duy Tung, who was appointed back in 2021.   Read more: BUET Professor Syeda Sultana Razia wins 2023 OPCW The Hague Award Ajay Vijay Bathija, Vice President of Franchise Operations for Southwest Asia (SWA), said, “We welcome Ju-un to Coca-Cola. The Coca-Cola Company reiterates its focus on building a sustainable business in an important market like Bangladesh. Ju-un joins at an exciting time of the company’s journey in the country and our partners will gain a great deal from her wide experience in FMCG and e-commerce.” Coca-Cola is the first company in Bangladesh to launch 100% recycled PET bottles in Bangladesh. Coke Studio Bangla, as a digital music platform, boasts a YouTube channel with 2.86 million+ subscribers, surpassing the combined subscriber count of some of Bangladesh's biggest brands.  As per a socio-economic impact study, the Coca-Cola system in Bangladesh contributes to the continuous economic growth of the country and also supports nearly 22,100 jobs which consist of 833 direct jobs and 21,300 indirect jobs. Read more: Bangladeshi marine biologist Alifa Bintha Haque wins WINGS Women of Discovery Award

Elon Musk sought to reassure big companies that advertise on Twitter on Wednesday that his chaotic takeover of the social media platform won’t harm their brands, acknowledging that some “dumb things” might happen on his way to creating what he says will be a better, safer user experience. The latest erratic move on the minds of major advertisers — that the company depends on for revenue — was Musk’s decision to abolish a new “official” label on high-profile Twitter accounts just hours after introducing it. Twitter began adding gray labels to prominent accounts Wednesday, including brands like Coca-Cola, Nike and Apple, to indicate that they are authentic. A few hours later, the labels started disappearing. “Apart from being an aesthetic nightmare when looking at the Twitter feed, it was simply another way of creating a two-class system,” the billionaire Tesla CEO told advertisers in an hour-long conversation broadcast live on Twitter. “It wasn’t addressing the core problem.” Musk’s comments were his most expansive about Twitter’s future since he closed a $44 billion deal to buy the company late last month, dismissed its top executives almost immediately and, on Friday, fired roughly half of its workforce. Major brands including General Motors, United Airlines, General Mills and others have temporarily halted buying ads on the platform as they watch whether Musk’s plans to loosen its guardrails against hate speech will lead to a rise in online toxicity. Scores of companies big and small made their presence known among the more than 100,000 Twitter Space listeners by signing in with their brand Twitter accounts. The brand accounts for companies including banks Deutsche Bank, TD Ameritrade, gas company Chevron, automaker Nissan, airline Air Canada and many others appeared. Car brand Audi, which has paused Twitter ads, was there, as was retailer R.E.I., which said after the call its ads were still paused. Musk said he’s still planning a “content moderation council” representing diverse viewpoints that will tackle inappropriate content and reassure advertisers, but it would take “a few months” to put together. He said it will be advisory and “not a command council.” Lou Paskalis, longtime marketing and media executive and former Bank of America head of global media, said the briefing raised questions that will likely leave Fortune 500 advertisers uneasy. The biggest concern for big advertisers is brand safety and risk avoidance, he said. And Musk seems uninterested in reining in his Twitter persona that can be divisive — such as his tweet ahead of the election advising Americans to vote Republican. “To come out like Elon did ... and say ‘vote Republican since there’s a Democrat in the White House’ — I don’t know what marketer wants to go near that,” he said. One solution could be to hire a CEO to run the company and create stability while Musk continues to be his “Chief Twit” persona, Paskalis said. Read more: Elon Musk takes over Twitter: what to expect? Musk had earlier threatened by tweet a “thermonuclear name & shame” on advertisers that quit Twitter. But he took a more measured approach Wednesday, asking them to “give it a minute and kind of see how things are evolving.” “The best way to understand what’s going on with Twitter is use Twitter,” he told the group, which was represented mostly by the head of the Interactive Advertising Bureau, a trade association. However, the confusion on Twitter continued Wednesday. The rollout hours earlier of the “official” labels appeared arbitrary, with some politicians, news outlets and well-known personalities getting the label and others not. In some cases, whether users could see an account’s “official” label appeared to depend on what country they were in. Then the labels started disappearing. YouTube personality and author John Green got the label but his younger brother and “vlogging” partner Hank Green didn’t make the cut. Then John Green’s label was gone. Another popular YouTuber, Marques Brownlee, who posts videos on technology, tweeted he got the label, then tweeted again that it disappeared. “I just killed it,” Musk responded, though at first it wasn’t clear if he was referring specifically to Brownlee’s label or the entire project. The site’s current system of using “blue checks” to confirm an account’s authenticity will soon go away for those who don’t pay a monthly fee. The checkmarks will be available for anyone willing to pay a $7.99-a-month subscription, which will also include some bonus features, such as fewer ads and the ability to have tweets given greater visibility than those coming from non-subscribers. The platform’s current verification system has been in place since 2009 and was created to ensure high-profile and public-facing accounts are who they say they are. Read more: Elon Musk says will ban impersonators on Twitter Experts have expressed concern that making the checkmark available to anyone for a fee could lead to impersonations and the spreading of misinformation and scams. The gray label — a color that tends to blend into the background whether you use light or dark mode to scroll Twitter — was an apparent compromise. Esther Crawford, a Twitter employee who has been working on the verification overhaul, had said Tuesday on Twitter that the “official” label would be added to “select accounts” when the new system launches. “Not all previously verified accounts will get the ‘Official’ label and the label is not available for purchase,” said Crawford. But after the labels started disappearing Wednesday, she again took to Twitter to say “there are no sacred cows in product at Twitter anymore.” “Elon is willing to try lots of things — many will fail, some will succeed,” she said. There are about 423,000 verified accounts under the outgoing system. Many of those belong to celebrities, businesses and politicians. But a large chunk of verified accounts belong to individual journalists, some with tiny followings at local newspapers and news sites around the world. The idea was to verify reporters so their identities couldn’t be used to push false information on Twitter. Read more: Musk says Twitter blue tick being revamped Musk, who often bristles at critical news coverage, pushed back against that use of the tool Wednesday, saying he wanted to elevate “citizen journalism” and the “voice of the people” over publications he suggested had too much influence in defining the “Western narrative.” Journalism professionals generally consider Musk’s concept of elevating “citizen journalists” dangerous because it ignores the need for standards, including fact-checking, that responsible news organizations enforce.

International Beverages Private, a subsidiary of The Coca-Cola Company, recently won the National Productivity and Quality Excellence Award 2020 in the food sub-category under large industry. Every year, the National Productivity Organisation, under the Ministry of Industry, gives out the award to organisations and companies that contribute to the economy through creating employment opportunities and promoting technological innovations. This year, Industries Minister Nurul Majid Mahmud Humayun handed out the award to 26 firms in five categories and the "Institutional Appreciation Award 2020" to one trade body as recognition of their contribution to the industrial sector. READ: Coca-Cola supports economic empowerment of marginalised women Tapas Kumar Mondal, managing director of International Beverages Private, said: "As a 100 percent foreign direct investment, we have been investing in Bangladesh and creating multi-faceted economic inclusion through sustainable practices, job opportunities, and youth skill development."  "We are delighted that our contribution has been recognised, and it will encourage us to do more for the society and the country."  Marcelo Boffi, president of The Coca-Cola Company's Bottling Investments Group, said: "We work with our supply chain to continuously improve sustainable and ethical sourcing practices, including a continued commitment to human rights. I am glad that all our initiatives and values are appreciated and recognised at the national level in Bangladesh."

Coca-Cola International Beverages Private Limited (IBPL) gave more than 30 sewing machines to the deputy commissioner of Mymensingh for the economic empowerment of marginalised women.  The women from Bhaluka and Trishal lost their jobs during the pandemic.  The district administration along with Mymensingh Youth Training Centre arranged a training programme for these women to make them financially independent and enable them to earn a good livelihood. Also Read: Coca-Cola Bangladesh releases maiden Sustainability Highlights 2020 As a part of its corporate social responsibilities, Coca-Cola offered help to these women with sewing machines at a programme Monday in Mymensingh. Coca-Cola IBPL Managing Director Tapas Kumar Mondal said, "We have offered support to the marginal and financially challenged people with various programmes as part of corporate social responsibilities, especially, during the Covid-19 outbreak." "We have stepped further to accelerate developments of rural women in Bangladesh." Read Coca-Cola Bangladesh releases maiden Sustainability Highlights 2020

In line with Coca-Cola’s global commitment of “Building sustainable communities as foundations for sustainable businesses”, Coca-Cola in Bangladesh has launched the Sustainability Highlights Report 2020. This report is the company’s maiden sustainability performance disclosure, highlighting the impact the company has created in the community along with the key sustainability initiatives across the value chain. Ta Duy Tung, Managing Director of Coca-Cola Bangladesh said, “Our purpose has always been to refresh the world and make a difference. Our sustainability goals are in line with United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals [SDGs]. We are delighted to be a part of the country’s journey of success through such projects and being able to make a difference in the community. It’s an honor for us to share our progress with everyone.” The Coca-Cola System in Bangladesh, with its two bottling partners- International Beverages Private Limited (IBPL) & Abdul Monem Limited (AML), has worked on several sustainability projects in the last year including Covid-19 Response, women empowerment, world without waste efforts, water initiatives & sustainable agricultural water management among other projects. Read: Coca-Cola appoints Tung as Managing Director for Bangladesh

Coca-Cola Bangladesh, one of the country’s beverage companies, has announced Ta Duy Tung as the new Managing Director of Coca-Cola Bangladesh Limited.  Tung will work closely with bottling partners, customers and other external stakeholders in the country.  Tung has been with the Coca-Cola system for 15 years. Before moving to Dhaka, Ta Duy Tung was the Executive Director for Market Operations for Coca-Cola beverages Vietnam Ltd. He was part of the leadership team that transformed the company-owned bottling company into a world class organization and set it on a path to accelerated growth.  Tung joined the company in 2006 as Regional Trade Marketing Manager (North Vietnam).  He went on to serve in a series of operations and commercial roles.  Prior to joining Coca-Cola, Tung was at Procter & Gamble.  Tung said, “In recent years, Bangladesh has impressed the world with its remarkable gross domestic product growth story. As Bangladesh celebrated its 50th anniversary of Independence, The Coca-Cola Company reiterates its focus on building a sustainable business in an important market like Bangladesh. I’m excited to partner with our bottling partners, International Beverages Private Limited (IBPL) & Abdul Monem Limited (AML) and other stakeholders to refresh our consumers in Bangladesh.” Tung is a surgeon by degree as he earned his first Bachelor of Surgeon degree from Hanoi Medical University, Vietnam. He later went on to pursue a Bachelor of Business Management from Hanoi Polytechnic University and went to India for an MBA degree from Bangalore University. 

As part of its "Stop the Spread" initiative, The Coca-Cola Foundation is supporting the Bangladesh Red Crescent Society's efforts to strengthen the government's nationwide vaccine rollout and registration process. The project will assist citizens with the online registration process; facilitate inoculations of people under the vaccination programmes organised by the government; provide PPE kits to health workers and vaccination campaign volunteers, and members of underprivileged communities. It targets 20,000 health workers and volunteers in 40 highly impacted districts and aims to promote hygiene and sanitation practices in 35 districts. READ: COVID-19: Efforts of Bangladesh Red Crescent Society volunteers, staff lauded "We know the Covid-19 crisis is far from over," said Saadia Madsbjerg, president of The Coca-Cola Foundation. "We are proud to use our resources to support Bangladesh Red Crescent Society's efforts to help #StopTheSpread." Major General (retd) ATM Abdul Wahab, chairman of Bangladesh Red Crescent Society, appreciated the initiative and urged other multinational companies to support life saving activities. "Red Crescent and Coca-Cola have teamed up to help people in this difficult situation in Bangladesh." The Coca-Cola Foundation has created a special "Stop the Spread" fund worldwide to help support initiatives that help contain the virus. READ: Coronavirus: ICRC donates 500,000 CHF to Bangladesh Red Crescent Society The fund is being channelised towards facilitating vaccine distribution, Covid safety kits and creating awareness around vaccination and sanitary practices to contain the spread of the pandemic.

Coca-Cola in Bangladesh has committed Tk 5 crores to augment the nation’s effort in combating the crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The Coca-Cola system in Bangladesh will facilitate COVID vaccination, provide safety kits, create awareness and distribute beverages to our nation’s front line, to positively impact over 20 lakh people, said a media release on Thursday. In addition to its direct response, Coca-Cola Bangladesh’s bottling partners have arranged supporting community hospitals by providing 1 million bottles of Kinley (500ml) water and creating awareness by distributing COVID safety Kits across the country. Last year, when Corona virus hit the country, the beverage company committed TK 11.5 crore to support the government’s ongoing efforts against Covid-19. The commitment provisioned a month’s food ration to over 50,000 people from disadvantaged communities and provided supply of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for above 1000 health care professionals. The company also helped the healthcare system and communities through food package and distribution of beverages, to contain the spread of the pandemic. The relief programs aimed at positively impacting over 50 lakh lives across the country. To stand in support of the Covid-19 pandemic, The Coca-Cola Company has created a special “Stop the Spread” fund worldwide. This fund will be channelized towards facilitating vaccine distribution, COVID safety kits (PPE - masks, gloves, sanitizer) and creating awareness around vaccination and sanitary practices to contain the spread of pandemic.

The Coca-Cola company has taken a plan to invest $200 million in Bangladesh over the next five years.