ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 24, 2024--
The Board of Directors of Coca-Cola Bottlers’ Sales & Services Company (CCBSS), a limited liability company owned by nearly 70 independent North American Coca-Cola bottlers, announced today that Caitlyn Carr has been elected as the company’s President and CEO effective Monday, June 3, 2024. She will report to the CCBSS Board of Directors that consists of 17 senior executives from 15 different U.S. Coca-Cola bottlers and the Coca-Cola North America Operating Unit (NAOU) leadership.
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As President and CEO, Caitlyn will have ultimate responsibility relative to all business functions including a shared services organization that impacts thousands of customers and Coca-Cola System associates daily, as well as oversight of more than $70 billion in procurement spend. In her new role, Caitlyn will become a part of the Coca-Cola System’s senior most executive leadership working closely with peers in the North America Coca-Cola Bottling System, NAOU, and The Coca-Cola Company (TCCC).
Caitlyn will succeed Brandi Shortt, the outgoing President and CEO of CCBSS.
Brandi expressed enthusiasm for Caitlyn’s new appointment, stating, “CCBSS is thrilled to welcome Caitlyn into her new role!” She continued, “Caitlyn ascending to this position fills us with great optimism. Her extensive tenure across the rich landscape of the Coca-Cola ecosystem, coupled with a significant background in the beverage sector and collaborative efforts with our Bottling partners, introduces a unique and strategic viewpoint to our operations.” Brandi concluded by saying, “Caitlyn’s capability to drive innovation, cultivate teamwork, and achieve results with efficiency aligns perfectly with our ambitions at CCBSS. It's with great confidence that I foresee Caitlyn propelling CCBSS to new heights of success.”
Caitlyn is an accomplished executive leader who has been with the Coca-Cola System since 2001 working in the areas of shared services, procurement, engineering, packaging technology, capital planning, and supply chain. She has more than 23 years of progressive Coca-Cola System experience in strategy implementation coupled with deep beverage industry knowledge.
Her tenure with the Coca-Cola System has been marked by transformative leadership, where she has generated multimillion-dollar savings while driving cultural advancements, associate development, as well as organizational change to improve performance and customer service.
Caitlyn has held roles of increasing responsibility within CCBSS as well as with various Coca-Cola System entities including Coca-Cola Enterprise (CCE), Coca-Cola Supply, and Coca-Cola Refreshments (CCR). Her previous titles have been Vice President, Customer Business Solutions (CBS); Vice President, Strategy & Operations Procurement; Director, Strategy & Insights Procurement; Director, Packaging Technology; and Director, Engineering Commercialization and Program Management, to name just a few of the jobs she’s held over her extensive Coca-Cola System career.
Caitlyn brings a wealth of experience that is both deep and wide. Her insights will be invaluable as CCBSS forges ahead with its innovative, collaborative, and efficient strategies in support of the Coca-Cola Bottling System in North America.
Caitlyn holds a BS in Industrial and Systems Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology. She treasures quality moments with her two lively teenagers, savors adventurous travels with her friends and family, and enjoys long walks with her two dogs.
Visit us at ccbss.com.
About CCBSS
Coca-Cola Bottlers’ Sales & Services Company (CCBSS) is a limited liability company owned by nearly 70 independent Coca-Cola bottlers in North America. The company supports operations for its bottler owners as well as bottler-owned production cooperatives, Coca-Cola North America Operating Unit (NAOU) and other participating beverage partners across the Coca-Cola System.
Caitlyn Carr, President & CEO, Coca-Cola Bottlers’ Sales & Services Company (CCBSS) (Photo: Business Wire)
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Millions of faithful gathered to mark Mexico’s Virgin of Guadalupe Day, honoring the country’s patron saint. But calls by the Roman Catholic Church for a truce in Mexico's ongoing cartel violence apparently went unheeded as more dead bodies were found in the country on Thursday.
Enormous crowds gathered early in the day, singing the traditional Mexican birthday song “Las mañanitas” at Mexico City’s Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe to honor the virgin on the 493rd anniversary of her apparition in 1531.
Mariachi bands and traditional dance groups were also present at the basilica, which has a mix of modern and colonial-era architecture.
María Luisa Vázquez Mendoza, a 33-year-old homemaker, walked for 16 hours from the neighboring State of Mexico to visit the basilica on the capital's north side and give thanks “for another year of life, and that my family is alright.”
“You feel joy in your heart when you see the gates of the basilica so close,” said Vázquez Mendoza. “Your body relaxes completely. You don't feel pain or tiredness anymore.”
Earlier this week, the Mexican Council of Bishops wrote an editorial calling for “a halt to the armed violence and hostile statements.”
“In a country where violence has left painful wounds in families and polarization among the public, this is a proposal to reflect, and act in favor of reconciliation and human dignity,” the council wrote on a church website, Desde la Fe.
But in the north-central state of Guanajuato — which has the highest number of homicides of any of Mexico's 32 states — the day was possibly even more violent than usual.
Police and prosecutors said a total of 15 dead bodies were found on the streets in various cities in Guanajuato, warning the death toll may be higher. In one macabre location, a pile of human remains was discovered on a highway near the city of Salvatierra but authorities were still investigating how many victims it contained.
Local media said parts of hacked-up human bodies were left in black garbage bags in the back of a pickup truck with a banner signed by a drug cartel.
In Guanajuato in 2023 there were an average of 8.5 homicides a day, according to official figures.
Vázquez Mendoza said she hoped the call for truce might still influence people “to be a little more human, more conscious.”
Over 11 million worshippers had visited the Basilica in the days leading up to the annual celebration of Mexico's patroness, authorities said.
Many had walked from distant villages, others rode on bicycles or buses to reach the Basilica’s enormous patio, where a sea of tents held pilgrims who had slept overnight to greet the virgin in the morning.
The cold temperature, long walks and the wait to see the virgin’s cloak inside the Basilica did not discourage them. Many of the pilgrims walked the last mile or so carrying flowers or large paintings of the virgin.
According to church tradition, in 1531, the dark-skinned virgin appeared to the Indigenous peasant Juan Diego and her image was imprinted on his cloak, which is on display inside the church. Juan Diego was made a saint in 2002 by Pope John Paul II.
Traditionally, those who have asked for help from the Virgin of Guadalupe come in a sign of appreciation. Some, like street vendor Christofer Hernández, completed the last stretch to the Basilica barefoot or on their knees.
Arturo Rivas was one of 200 people who made the pilgrimage on bicycle from the nearby state of Tlaxacala, a ride of over 60 miles ( 100 kilometers).
“We are excited to come year after year,” Rivas said. “This is what our parents taught us.”
Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america
A statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe is silhouetted against a sunrise in one of the world's largest religious pilgrimages marking the feast day of the patroness of Latin America, in Mexico City, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Pilgrims camp in the plaza of the Our Lady of Guadalupe Basilica, in one of the world's largest religious pilgrimages marking the feast day of the patroness of Latin America, in Mexico City, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
A pilgrim holds an image of the Virgin of Guadalupe outside the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe a day before her feast day in Mexico City, Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Pilgrims sleep outside of the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe a day before her feast day in Mexico City, Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
A pilgrim sleeps alongside his Our Lady of Guadalupe statue during one of the world's largest religious pilgrimages to Our Lady of Guadalupe Basilica, marking the feast day of the patroness of Latin America in Mexico City, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Pilgrims gather outside of the Our Lady of Guadalupe Basilica, in one of the world's largest religious pilgrimages marking the feast day of the patroness of Latin America, in Mexico City, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
An image of the Virgin of Guadalupe and a Mexican flag adorn a car arriving at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe a day before her feast day in Mexico City, Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Lit candles, left by pilgrims, blanket an area in the plaza of Our Lady of Guadalupe Basilica, during one of the world's largest religious pilgrimages marking the feast day of the patroness of Latin America, in Mexico City, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Pilgrims gather outside of the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in one of the world's largest religious pilgrimages marking the feast day of the Virgin of Guadalupe in Mexico City, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Pilgrims arrive to the Basilica de Guadalupe, paying a promise of devotion to the Our Lady of Guadalupe, on the virgin's feast day in Mexico City, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024.(AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
A pilgrim looks out from behind a Our Lady of Guadalupe statue during one of the world's largest religious pilgrimages to Our Lady of Guadalupe Basilica, marking the feast day of the patroness of Latin America in Mexico City, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
A pilgrim sleeps on the Our Lady of Guadalupe Basilica plaza during one of the world's largest religious pilgrimages, marking the feast day of the patroness of Latin America in Mexico City, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
A pilgrim visits Our Lady of Guadalupe Basilica during one of the world's largest religious pilgrimages marking the feast day of the patroness of Latin America, in Mexico City, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
A pilgrim poses for a photo just outside of the Our Lady of Guadalupe Basilica, during one of the world's largest religious pilgrimages marking the feast day of the patroness of Latin America, in Mexico City, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Pilgrims gather in the plaza of the Our Lady of Guadalupe Basilica, in one of the world's largest religious pilgrimages marking the feast day of the patroness of Latin America, in Mexico City, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Pilgrims gather outside of the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe a day before her feast day in Mexico City, Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
