Senior Director, General Manager, Tea Company

Job Description Summary:

The Coca-Cola Company, a global beverage leader with a rich history of 140 years and a portfolio of over 200 brands worldwide and Tea Co is a dedicated 'hothouse' tasked with step-change growth and disruptive innovation in the ready-to-drink tea category. Operating within a 'sandbox' (primarily Guangdong province, with initial focus on the Greater Guangzhou area), Tea Co is expected to:

• Test creative ideas and new business models at startup speed.

• Leverage the global scale of Coca-Cola and local execution strength of Swire

• Deliver validated concepts that can scale back into the core ATH system or launch as independent brands.

• Achieve +150M incremental unit cases over a 3-year horizon.

This is not a traditional internal functional leadership role. It requires entrepreneurial capability, commercial ownership, stakeholder management, and the ability to operate in ambiguity with pace. The position is legally hosted under Coca-Cola, reporting to the Synthetic Board, within a virtual entity structure where costs are shared proportionally between KO and Swire.

What You'll Do for Us:

Own the Innovation Agenda and Product Roadmap

• Define the innovation strategy, prioritize concepts, and manage the pipeline from ideation to pilot launch

• Lead consumer insight integration, concept development, and rapid prototyping

• Ensure innovation efforts protect and enhance the ATH master brand equity

• Build and test digitally enabled commercialization models, including digital consumer acquisition, O2O activation, DTC experimentation, social commerce, and platform partnerships.

Own Commercial and Financial Outcomes

• Full P&L ownership for Tea Co — accountable for revenue, cost, margin, and investment returns

• Build and refine the business model across incubation, early commercialization, and potential scale phases

• Deliver against +150M unit cases 3-year target

Build and Lead a High-Performance, Lean Team

• Recruit, develop, and retain a world-class, entrepreneurial team (1+4 structure).

• Foster a culture of speed, experimentation, accountability, and psychological safety.

• Attract talent willing to embrace a 60%+ failure rate on individual experiments (as a portfolio, the goal is success).

Manage Complex Stakeholder Ecosystem

• Internal: Navigate Coca-Cola (Shanghai HQ, GDI (Global Development and Innovation), Consumer Insights, KO Legal), Swire (TAC, S&M, Supply Chain), and XNode (external facilitator).

• External: Co-packers, ingredient suppliers, research agencies, advisory network.

• Governance: Manage Board engagement, prepare for Gate Reviews, and ensure transparent progress reporting

Drive Speed-to-Market and Consumer Validation

• Move from concept to consumer test in 90-day cycles where possible.

• Build rapid feedback loops with target consumers in the Guangzhou test market.

• Make "accelerate/ pivot/ pause/ stop" decisions with confidence and data.

• Use digital channels and consumer data to test propositions, acquire target consumers, and accelerate product-market fit validation.

• Run rapid experiments across digital targeting, product concepts, pricing, promotions, conversion pathways, and repeat purchase behavior.

Protect Brand Integrity and Ensure Governance Discipline

• Maintain a connection point with the BAU ATH brand team to monitor brand risks.

• Operate within KO compliance framework while pushing for speed.

• Ensure all innovation experiments do not inadvertently damage global brand equity.

Qualifications & Requirements:

• Industry: 10+ years in consumer goods; F&B strongly preferred.
• P&L Management: At least 2+ years independently managing a business unit P&L (scale flexible).
• Channel & Sales: Experience working with frontline sales teams and using digital channels to test and scale commercial models; understanding of convenience stores, traditional trade, e-commerce, O2O, DTC, social commerce, and platform-based consumer acquisition.
• Product Development: Led or participated in full-cycle product development from consumer insight to market launch.
• Innovation & Incubation: Track record of building or scaling something new within an established organization — or as a founder/early team member.
• Education: Bachelor's degree or above; MBA or management master's preferred.
• Language: Fluent Chinese; English as working language.

Differentiators:

• Direct RTD tea or premium beverage experience in China.
• Founder/ early-stage operator or corporate incubation background.
• Board, Steering Committee, JV, or partnership governance exposure.
• Small-batch manufacturing, co-packing, agile production, or F&B regulatory familiarity.
• Strong China F&B ecosystem relationships.
• Demonstrated resilience through previous failure experience/ setbacks.

What We Can Do For You:

• Exposure to World Class Leaders: Availability to global technology leaders that will expand your network and exposure you to emerging technologies and techniques.
• Iconic Brand: Work on the most recognized brand in the world and be part of developing the brands next chapter.
• Learning Culture: Access to resources such as LinkedIn Learning and management programs that give you the resources to continually develop your skills and knowledge.

Skills:

Business Integrations, Business Planning, Channel Management, Communication, Execution Excellence, Market Dynamics, Negotiation, Revenue Growth Management, Value Chain Economics

Location(s):

China

City/Cities:

Guangzhou

Travel Required:

00% - 25%

Relocation Provided:

Yes

Job Posting End Date:

June 18, 2026

Our Purpose and Growth Culture:

We are taking deliberate action to nurture an inclusive culture that is grounded in our company purpose, to refresh the world and make a difference. We act with a growth mindset, take an expansive approach to what’s possible and believe in continuous learning to improve our business and ourselves. We focus on four key behaviors – curious, empowered, inclusive and agile – and value how we work as much as what we achieve. We believe that our culture is one of the reasons our company continues to thrive after 130+ years. Visit Our Purpose and Vision to learn more about these behaviors and how you can bring them to life in your next role at Coca-Cola.