J. Paul Austin

John Paul Austin was the Chairman, President, and CEO of The Coca-Cola Company. He led the company from 1962 until 1981. During his time, Coca-Cola grew very quickly. Sales increased from $567 million to $5.9 billion. His leadership helped make Coca-Cola a well-known global brand. Austin was born on February 14, 1915, and passed away on December 26, 1985.

Early life

John Paul Austin was born on February 14, 1915, in LaGrange, Georgia. His father worked at Callaway Mills. He went to school at Culver Military Academy in Indiana and Phillips Academy in Massachusetts.

Austin studied at Harvard University and finished in 1937 with a degree in Liberal Arts. While there, he rowed in the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin. He later finished at Harvard Law School in 1940. During World War II, he served as a Naval Intelligence Officer and was part of a PT squadron in the Pacific. He reached the rank of lieutenant commander and was awarded the Legion of Merit.

Career with Coca-Cola

Paul Austin joined Coca-Cola's legal department in 1949 while working at a law firm in New York. He started in Chicago, helping to buy bottling plants and even worked in different jobs at a plant and as a salesman. In 1950, he married Jeane Weed, who was working at Coca-Cola as a secretary.

Austin became assistant to the president of Coca-Cola Export Corporation in 1950. He moved to Johannesburg, South Africa in 1954 to manage Coca-Cola's operations there. He returned to Georgia in 1958 and took on bigger roles, becoming executive vice president of Coca-Cola in 1961.

In 1962, Austin was elected president of Coca-Cola, later becoming CEO in 1966 and chairman in 1970. He retired in 1981, and Roberto Goizueta took over. During Austin's time, Coca-Cola's sales grew from $567 million to $5.9 billion.

Austin helped Coca-Cola expand worldwide. He brought Fanta Orange to the Soviet Union, restored operations in Egypt after a long break, and returned Coca-Cola to Portugal, Yemen, and Sudan. However, India stopped Coca-Cola sales in 1977 because the company would not share its secret recipe.

In 1978, Austin announced Coca-Cola would return to China after 30 years. He had been talking with Chinese leaders since 1975 to make this happen.

Austin also oversaw the building of Coca-Cola's headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia, which opened in 1979. His wife, Jeane, helped decorate the inside with art she found on their travels.

Politics and personal causes

Civil rights

Paul Austin supported civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. After King won the 1964 Nobel Peace Prize, there were plans for a celebration in Atlanta, which was still divided by race at the time. At first, many business leaders in the city were not interested in helping with the celebration. Austin changed their minds by speaking up. He told them it was embarrassing for Coca-Cola to be based in a city that would not honor its Nobel Prize winner. Soon after this meeting, all the tickets for the celebration were sold out.

Election of Jimmy Carter

Paul Austin helped Georgia’s Governor Jimmy Carter when he ran for president in 1976. Austin gave money to Carter’s campaign and let him use Coca-Cola’s plane. He also introduced Carter to important business people in New York, like David Rockefeller. After Carter became president, many people thought Austin might get a job in the government, but he only worked as an advisor from outside.

Cuba and Castro

In 1977 and 1978, Paul Austin met with Fidel Castro in Cuba. These meetings were partly about business, since Coca-Cola had lost money when Cuba took over its properties in 1961. Because Austin was close to President Carter, these meetings also helped start talks about improving relations between the United States and Cuba.

Environmentalism

Paul Austin cared deeply about the environment. While leading Coca-Cola, he started several programs to help protect the planet, such as water cleaning projects and machines to recycle glass bottles. In a speech in 1970, he talked about the importance of taking care of the environment for future generations. He said that young people were worried about pollution and wanted leaders to take action.

Personal and family life

Paul Austin worked with many important companies and groups, including SunTrust, General Electric, Dow Jones & Company, RAND Corporation, Trilateral Commission, and the Council on Foreign Relations. He was also honored with the Golden Plate Award from the American Academy of Achievement in 1977.

Austin loved playing golf and was involved with the Professional Golfers' Association of America (PGA). He was a member of famous golf clubs like Augusta National, Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews in Scotland, and Cypress Point Club in Pebble Beach, California. The Austin family lived in the Buckhead area of Atlanta starting in 1958. Paul and his wife Jeane had two sons named Jock and Sam, and they had eight grandchildren.