James Quincey’s spacious office at the top of Coca-Cola’s Atlanta headquarters is sparse and dominated by his standing desk. But unlike his office, the to-do list that Mr Quincey has inherited as the new chief executive of the world’s largest soft-drinks maker is crammed.

London-born, but with a trace of a Birmingham accent (he grew up in the English city), Mr Quincey joined Coca-Cola in 1996 after working at Bain & Co and a smaller consultancy. Fluent in Spanish, he worked in Mexico and Argentina. While in Europe he oversaw the acquisition of Innocent smoothies and, more recently, the sale and consolidation of Coca-Cola’s European bottling operations.

By the time the company completes the sale of most of its remaining bottling plants around the world, the number of employees next year will have shrunk to about 40,000, from 150,000 in 2012. Coca-Cola will be going back to its roots, developing and marketing drinks, not distributing them. But even without the bottling operations, the 51-year-old has a complex assignment on his hands.