Mike Suco Shares the Sweet Success of Coca-Cola UNITED
President Bruce Rogers with Mike Suco and Past President Bill Jones
This week the Rotary Club of Birmingham welcomed Mike Suco, Coca-Cola Bottling Company United President & CEO. He shared the personal journey of his family’s immigration from Cuba, his rearing in Alabama and rewarding career in the beverage industry. Suco provided an overview of the humble beginnings of the Birmingham Coca-Cola Bottling Company a century ago that has grown with its parent company Coca-Cola Bottling Company United, Inc. to become the second largest, and largest privately-held, Coca-Cola bottling company in the U.S. Suco shared the distribution footprint of the company, highlighted its product line, praised its 500+ employees and updated the progress of the new facility under construction in Birmingham’s Kingston community. The nearly $330 million investment is expected to create up to 50 new jobs and retain more than 750 jobs in the Magic City, with a projected completion in early 2027.
Bio for Mike Suco
Mike Suco is President and CEO of Coca-Cola Bottling Company United, Inc. (UNITED), the second largest privately held Coca-Cola bottler in North America and the third largest Coca-Cola bottler in the United States. Coca-Cola UNITED has more than 50 facilities throughout the southeast in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee, and employs more than 10,000 associates.
Mike previously served as the company’s Senior Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer, responsible for national retail sales, marketing, on premise, revenue growth management and eCommerce. From 2016 to 2021, Mike served as Vice President of the company’s East Region, based in Atlanta, and was responsible for sales and distribution within the state of Georgia and more than $1 billion in revenues for Coca-Cola UNITED. He also led the integration of the Atlanta market unit, Coca-Cola UNITED’s single largest territory acquisition, which was purchased from The Coca-Cola Company in 2017. More than 2,000 new associates and 13,000 new customers joined the Coca-Cola UNITED family during the integration.
Prior to that, Mike was based in Birmingham, Alabama, and served as Corporate Vice President of Operational Marketing and Commercial Leadership, developing and implementing channel, category and brand strategies for customers and consumers.
Mike began his career in The Coca-Cola System in 1996 as a Market Development Manager for The Coca-Cola Company. In 2000, he joined Coca-Cola UNITED, the Birmingham-based, privately held company, where he has held numerous management positions over the past two decades.
Mike grew up in Jacksonville, Alabama, where his family moved after immigrating from Cuba to the United States in 1962. His grandfather was a professor at Miles College in Birmingham and his mother was a professor at Jacksonville State University for 43 years.
After graduating from Jacksonville State University with a bachelor’s degree in business administration, Mike joined The Ernest and Julio Gallo Winery in 1991. He began in the company’s distributor network in Ft. Myers, Florida as a front-line merchandiser and salesperson, and progressed to district sales manager, field marketing manager, area manager, and state manager over his five-year tenure.
Mike serves on the boards of several industry organizations, including The Coca-Cola Bottlers’ Association, the Dr Pepper Bottlers Association, and the American Beverage Association. He also has a long history of community engagement, both in Birmingham and Atlanta, including leadership and board affiliations with Oglethorpe University, Fernbank Museum of Natural History, Georgia Beverage Association, Hispanic Business Council, Fiesta Hispanic Cultural Festival, YMCA of Greater Birmingham, The Boy Scouts of America and Petroleum and Convenience Marketers of Alabama.
Mike enjoys competing in marathons, triathlons and playing golf. He and his wife Shelley have two children, Bella and Michael Jr., and reside in Birmingham.