Dhaka Bureau: Ju-un Nahar Chowdhury has been appointed as the new managing director of the country’s leading beverage company, Coca-Cola Bangladesh Limited. As the first Bangladeshi, he got the responsibility of managing director of this Fortune 500 company. As Managing Director, he will work closely with bottling and business partners, buyers, and other stakeholders.
Joo-Wun started his career as a management trainee in Unilever’s marketing department. He has worked in various positions at Unilever Bangladesh. Under his leadership, he organized the nationwide ‘Lifebuoy Hath Dhwa Campaign/Handwashing Campaign’ and made it to the Guinness World Record. 86,000 youth from more than 60 districts in the country participated in this campaign simultaneously.
He started his career in Indonesia by joining Reckitt Benckiser in 2014. There, he was in charge of Dettol’s business management. After serving as Head of Innovation at Danone Indonesia, he was FMCG Director at Ekmars. This end-to-end e-commerce facilitator company operates in 7 ASEAN countries. After spending eight years in Indonesia, he returned home in 2023 and joined Apex as Marketing Director.
Ju-un Nahar Chowdhury, Managing Director of Coca-Cola Bangladesh Limited, said, “I am very happy to join Coca-Cola System Bangladesh. I am also determined to keep consumers fresh by working together with our bottling partners, Coca-Cola Bangladesh Beverages (CCBB), Abdul Monem Limited (AML), and other partners. It is an honor for me to lead Bangladesh in this journey for Coca-Cola. I look forward to taking our brand and franchise operations to new heights.”
Ju-Wun is the first woman to be appointed to this post in Bangladesh. He will succeed former managing director Ta Ji Tung, who joined in 2021.
Ajay Vijay Batija, Vice President, Franchise Operations, South East Asia (SWA) region, said, “Welcome Ju-Wun to Coca-Cola. Building a sustainable business in a significant market like Bangladesh is very important to Coca-Cola. Ju-Wun joins us at a wonderful time in this company’s journey to Bangladesh. Our partners will greatly benefit from his long-standing experience in the FMCG and e-commerce sectors.”
Coca-Cola is the first company to introduce 100% recycled pet bottles in Bangladesh. Coke Studio Bangla is Bangladesh’s first digital music platform. The platform has more than 2.86 million subscribers on its YouTube channel, which is more than the combined number of subscribers of the biggest brands in Bangladesh. The subscribers of Coke Studio Bangla are spread in the big cities of Bangladesh, including Dhaka, Chittagong, and Rajshahi.
According to a report on socio-economic impact, the Coca-Cola System in Bangladesh is contributing to the continuous economic growth of the country. The company has created about 22,000 employment opportunities in the country, including 833 direct and 21,300 indirect jobs.
Incidentally, Coca-Cola Bangladesh has been working with the objective of strengthening the world and bringing about change in society for more than five decades. Our brands include Coca-Cola, Coca-Cola Diet, Sprite, Fanta, Kinley Water, Kinley Soda, Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, Sprite Zero, and Thumbs-Up Current.
The Coca-Cola Bangladesh system consists of company-owned bottling company Coca-Cola Bangladesh Beverages Limited (“CCBBL”) and independent, authorized franchise bottler Abdul Monem Limited (“AML”). This system currently provides direct and indirect employment to more than 800 and 21,000 people, respectively.
In 2022, Coca-Cola launched the first 100% RPET bottle in the country. Launched in 2022, Coke Studio Bangla’s YouTube channel has more than 2.8 million subscribers. The platform is presenting Bengali music and culture to the world in just two seasons.
Coca-Cola System Bangladesh and the Coca-Cola Foundation (TCCF) are supporting the government of Bangladesh in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set by the United Nations. TCCF is working together with SR Asia and CordAid on two projects named Impact-GE and Resilient to build a world without waste and a circular economy.
These two projects are being implemented in Dhaka South and North and Narayanganj City Corporation. The organization is also working with 2030WRG, WaterAid, and Water and Sanitation for the Urban Poor (WSUP) to manage water initiatives. The foundation is also working with United Purpose to empower rural women through the Women’s Business Center. More than 1 lakh women have been helped so far through this initiative.
