Coca-Cola vs ICICI Bank: Founders, CEOs and History

Company facts

Founders

CEOs and their tenures

Timeline: Coca-Cola and ICICI Bank side by side

1. 1892Coca-Cola

   The Coca-Cola Company Founded

   Asa Griggs Candler incorporated The Coca-Cola Company in Atlanta in 1892 after acquiring rights connected to John Pemberton's original formula.

2. 1899Coca-Cola

   National Bottling Rights Granted

   In 1899, Benjamin F. Thomas and Joseph B. Whitehead secured rights to bottle Coca-Cola across much of the United States. The deal looked less important than the fountain business at first, but it became the foundation of Coca-Cola's physical reach.

3. 1915Coca-Cola

   Contour Bottle Introduced

   Coca-Cola introduced the contour bottle design in 1915 to make the product recognizable and harder to imitate. At a time when copycat colas were common, the bottle gave consumers a visual and tactile cue that they were buying the real product.

4. 1919Coca-Cola

   Company Sold for $25 Million

   In 1919, the Candler family sold Coca-Cola to a group of investors led by Ernest Woodruff for $25 million. The transaction signaled that Coca-Cola had become a valuable national business rather than a regional success.

5. 1928Coca-Cola

   Olympic Sponsorship Begins

   Coca-Cola began its Olympic sponsorship in 1928, linking the brand to international sport and public celebration. The partnership mattered because it gave Coca-Cola a platform that crossed language and national boundaries.

6. 1955ICICI Bank

   ICICI Founded as Development-Finance Institution

   ICICI was formed to provide medium- and long-term project finance to Indian businesses.

7. 1985Coca-Cola

   New Coke Reversal

   Coca-Cola introduced New Coke in 1985 after taste tests suggested a sweeter formula could compete more effectively with Pepsi. Consumers rejected the change because the original product had emotional and cultural value beyond flavor.

8. 1994ICICI Bank

   ICICI Bank Incorporated

   ICICI Bank was incorporated as part of the ICICI group during India's post-liberalization banking opening. The move gave ICICI a deposit-taking commercial bank able to serve retail, corporate, and transaction-banking customers.

9. 1999ICICI Bank

   NYSE Listing Milestone

   ICICI became the first Indian company and the first bank or financial institution from non-Japan Asia to list on the New York Stock Exchange. The listing expanded global visibility and imposed a higher disclosure profile on the group.

10. 2001ICICI Bank

    Bank of Madura Amalgamation

    Bank of Madura was amalgamated with ICICI Bank with effect from March 10, 2001. The deal added branches, customers, and a southern India presence that helped the young bank build distribution faster than organic expansion alone.

11. 2002ICICI Bank

    Reverse Merger Created Universal Bank

    ICICI, ICICI Personal Financial Services, and ICICI Capital Services merged into ICICI Bank.

12. 2008Coca-Cola

    Muhtar Kent Becomes CEO

    Muhtar Kent became CEO in 2008 during a period when emerging markets, bottler alignment, and category diversification were becoming more important.

13. 2009Coca-Cola

    Freestyle Fountain System Unveiled

    Coca-Cola unveiled Freestyle in 2009, giving foodservice customers a fountain dispenser with more than 100 beverage choices.

14. 2010ICICI Bank

    Bank of Rajasthan Merger

    The Bank of Rajasthan merger strengthened ICICI Bank's branch network, especially in northern and western India. The transaction mattered because local branches and deposits still supported private-bank scale even as digital channels were growing.

15. 2017Coca-Cola

    Topo Chico Joins the Portfolio

    Coca-Cola acquired Topo Chico in 2017, adding a premium sparkling mineral water brand sourced from Cerro del Topo Chico in northern Mexico.

16. 2017Coca-Cola

    James Quincey Becomes CEO

    James Quincey became CEO in 2017 and accelerated the push toward a total beverage strategy. He emphasized revenue growth management, zero-sugar products, refranchising discipline, and fewer but stronger brands.

17. 2018ICICI Bank

    Sandeep Bakhshi Became MD and CEO

    Sandeep Bakhshi became Managing Director and CEO in October 2018 after Chanda Kochhar requested early retirement. His tenure has been associated with a sharper focus on risk controls, asset quality, governance, and steady retail-led growth.

18. 2019Coca-Cola

    Costa Coffee Acquisition

    Coca-Cola completed the Costa Coffee acquisition in 2019, adding a coffee platform with retail stores, Costa Express vending, for-home formats, and ready-to-drink potential.

19. 2021Coca-Cola

    BodyArmor Full Acquisition

    Coca-Cola acquired full control of BodyArmor in 2021 in a transaction valued at about $5.6 billion for the remaining stake. The deal deepened Coca-Cola's position in sports drinks, a category long led by PepsiCo's Gatorade.

20. 2023Coca-Cola

    $45.8B Revenue

    In FY2023, Coca-Cola reported $45.8 billion in revenue, continuing its recovery from the pandemic-era decline in away-from-home channels.

21. 2024Coca-Cola

    $47.1B Revenue

    In FY2024, Coca-Cola reported $47.1 billion in revenue, with organic performance supported heavily by price/mix and concentrate sales timing.

22. 2025Coca-Cola

    $47.9B Revenue and 65,900 Employees

    In FY2025, Coca-Cola reported $47.9 billion in revenue and $13.1 billion in net income. Its 2025 Form 10-K listed about 65,900 company employees at year-end, down from about 69,700 in 2024 because of divestiture activity.

23. 2025ICICI Bank

    FY2025 Balance Sheet Scale

    The FY2025 integrated report listed Rs 16,103.48B in deposits, Rs 13,417.66B in loans and advances, Rs 21,182.40B in standalone total assets, and a 16.55% capital adequacy ratio.

24. 2025ICICI Bank

    FY2025 Profitability

    ICICI Bank reported Rs 472.27B in standalone profit after tax and Rs 510.29B in consolidated profit after tax for FY2025. Profitability matters because the bank has to fund technology, compliance, provisions, and growth while keeping capital strong.

25. 2025ICICI Bank

    IMobile and Card Scale

    IMobile processed 558M transactions worth Rs 11,238B in FY2025, and the bank had close to 18M active credit cards at March 31, 2025.

26. 2026ICICI Bank

    Q1 FY2027 Profit Up 15.9%

    Standalone profit rose 15.9% to Rs 14,805 crore for April-June 2026, with net interest income up 12.7% and net NPAs at 0.35%.

27. 2026ICICI Bank

    Bakhshi Reappointed to 2028

    The RBI approved Sandeep Bakhshi's reappointment as MD and CEO for two years from October 4, 2026.

28. 2026ICICI Bank

    FY2026 Profit Crosses Rs 50,000 Crore

    Standalone net profit rose 6.2% to Rs 50,146.6 crore in FY2026, with a 4.32% net interest margin and 15.8% loan growth.

Acquisitions

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