Sergio Zyman

Best known for his revolutionary work with Coca Cola, Sergio Zyman is one of the preeminent marketing geniuses of the twentieth century.

Born in Mexico, Zyman started out his career with management roles in Japan, New York and South America. He then moved to Atlanta, where he was taken on by The Coca-Cola Company and launched several highly successful products, including Cherry Coke and Diet Coke. Many of his ideas are now seen as ahead of their time, as evidenced by the fact that consumers were not ready for the launch of New Coke. Modern customers embrace the launch of new Coke formulas and flavours, showing that Zyman was simply a forward thinker. The marketing maverick then launched his own firm, the Core Strategy Group and began to work with clients such as the Miller Brewing Company and 7-11. He also worked on election campaigns, including the successful election run of Mexican President Vicente Fox.

Having seen the work that Zyman was doing, Coca Cola invited him back to work with them as the company’s first ever Chief Marketing Officer. He returned to the organisation and transformed their marketing strategy, boosting annual sales from 9 to 15 billion cases. The marketing mogul then left to found marketing consultancy the Zyman Group, and write several bestselling books. His first book The End of Marketing as We Know It is still featured on university reading lists and hailed as one of the most important marketing works of all time.