What exactly is it like to run a multi-billion dollar, Fortune 100 corporation? That's something Muhtar Kent knows quite a bit about.
Kent, the Chief Executive Officer of the Coca-Cola Company, spoke yesterday to a packed auditorium of Wharton students about leadership in these challenging economic times.
He began by noting that although he has lectured at several prominent institutions in the past year, including Cambridge and MIT, "coming to Wharton is truly special because it is a place that promotes new thinking and really reflects the business leadership of the future."
He acknowledged that these are difficult times for the American economy, but both he and Chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank Ben Bernanke, with whom he met last week, are both optimistic.
"We can come out of this stronger than we were before. It is a time to focus most on what matters to your specific business and to continue to communicate with your consumers," he said.
Kent referenced the economic crisis of the '70s, saying that although the situation looked bleak at the time, Americans were "innovative and inventive," which helped bolster the nation's economy.
He stressed that turmoil is something to which Americans need to become accustomed. Whether the crisis is economic or political, he said, "turbulence is going to be the norm in the years ahead." The paradox, he added, is that these seemingly insurmountable challenges also come with incredible opportunities to think in new and creative ways.
Over the course of his 30 years in business, Kent has learned many important lessons about being a strong leader. Most importantly, he said, "leaders must create a clear and compelling vision and communicate it in a simple way."
He said there are two things that a leader cannot delegate: communicating with one's team and developing talent within your company.
He mentioned his newest objective, promoting women's leadership within the Coca-Cola Company. "Currently only two branches out of 39 internationally are headed by women. Those are China and Uruguay," he said.
"Meanwhile, 70 percent of our consumer base is women, because they shop for themselves and their families. Our leadership needs to reflect that."
Wharton freshman Emma Perkins found Kent informative. "He was a good speaker who had a lot of relevance today because he addressed the economic crisis. Plus he shared some pretty good advice without sounding pretentious or saying his way was the only way to run a company," she said.
Kent ended by answering about a dozen questions.
He emphasized that the Coca-Cola Company has many other popular products other than Coke, including coffee, tea and Vitamin Water.
And just out of curiosity, what's the CEO's favorite beverage? Coke Zero.
