Coca‑Cola India & Southwest Asia Announces New Vice President of Finance

Oct. 21, 2024 – The Coca‑Cola India & Southwest Asia (INSWA) operating unit of The Coca‑Cola Company today announced Mukti Hariharan as Vice President of Finance, effective Nov. 1, 2024. She succeeds Harsh Bhutani, who has transitioned to a new role as Chief Financial Officer for bottling partner HCCB, Hindustan Coca‑Cola Beverages Pvt. Ltd.

“Mukti brings an impressive breadth of experience in financial leadership and has a reputation for strategic excellence,” said Sanket Ray, President, INSWA. “Her deep expertise in driving financial transformation and her collaborative leadership style will be invaluable as we continue to pursue our growth ambitions.”

In her new role, Hariharan will be responsible for leading financial strategy and operations for INSWA, ensuring alignment with the company’s growth objectives and advancing financial performance across the region.

Hariharan joins Coca‑Cola from Lenskart, where she served as CFO, overseeing a global finance team of more than 100 professionals. She led financial strategy; operations; planning and analysis; treasury; and tax, contributing significantly to the company’s success. Before this, she held senior leadership roles at Unilever, where she played a pivotal role in driving double-digit revenue growth for the South Asia Homecare business and led mergers and acquisitions and treasury for the region.

Beyond Lenskart and Unilever, Hariharan has held key positions in finance at Credit Suisse Investment Banking in both the United Kingdom and India, as well as leadership roles at Bennett & Coleman, JM Morgan Stanley and BSR & Co.

Hariharan holds a postgraduate degree in analytical finance and strategic marketing from the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad, and is an All-India rank holder in chartered accountancy.