Senior Director, General Manager, Tea Company

The Coca-Cola Company, a global beverage leader with a rich history of 140 years and a portfolio of over 200 brands worldwide and TeaCo 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), TeaCo 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 TeaCo — 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. 

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.