On Tuesday Oct. 21, more than 1000 mourners attend funeral for Coke chairman/CEO Roberto Goizueta in Atlanta. Goizueta died 10/18/97. During service held at 11 a.m. on clear, cool Atlanta morning, Goizueta's son, Roberto S. Goizueta, talks of father's courage. Says "he confronted his illness and his own death with the same courage and integrity that have characterized his life." Son talks of love between his parents. Former Atlanta Mayor/UN Ambassador Andrew Young also delivers eulogy, praises Goizueta's contribution to "this community, this nation, our world." At end of funeral, as casket leaves church, organ quietly plays Coke's 1970's song, "I'd like to teach the world to sing ...." Later, talking to BD about Coke's and Goizueta's success, Young says: "He died at the top of his game." Industry. PepsiCo defers 3Q earnings release from 10/21 to 10/22 "because it would not be appropriate to issue it on the day of the funeral," says Pepsi executive. Pepsi CEO Craig Weatherup and PepsiCo vp international public affairs Nestor Carbonell attend Goizueta's funeral. Cadbury Schweppes makes donation to Goizueta Cancer Research Fund at Emory University.

Ivester tribute. On Wednesday Oct. 22, company holds memorial service for employees at Atlanta's Civic Center. Ivester delivers "tribute" to Goizueta. Opens: "I know that at this very moment Roberto is looking down on this gathering seeing his Coca-Cola family gathered here and Roberto is saying, 'Why aren't those people at work?'" Calls Goizueta "great friend" and "brilliant inspiring business leader." 'Walk-in cooler.' "He was a joy to work for. You didn't even mind the fact that his office felt like a walk-in cooler. One of the first times I ever got called into his office, probably 16 or 17 years ago, he noticed that my lower lip was trembling. I told him, 'I'm not nervous -- I'm just freezing to death.' We walked over and checked this thermometer he had in there, and he had set the air conditioning at 57 degrees." Gift to us. "Roberto gave all of us a broad canvas on which we could paint. This was his greatest gift to all of his colleagues. He let us think it was a blank canvas, and challenged us to paint our visions. And it was only much later that we sometimes realized we were painting by numbers -- only we couldn't see the numbers. He had drawn the vision for us." 'Make a Difference.' "He believed it falls to each of us, every day, to make a difference, in the way we can. And boy, did he make a difference."

Keough. Day before funeral, former Coke president Don Keough talks with BD about Goizueta, their relationship. Keough and Goizueta worked side-by-side for years. In 1981, Keough became president/COO, Goizueta chairman/CEO. Keough holds presidency until 4/93. Keough observes: "Roberto was first and foremost a gentleman. (And) he had an enormous capacity for work. His golf and tennis were The Coca-Cola Co." 'With a smile.' "He had the ability to deal with passionate issues. Sitting with him at the time of New Coke, he dealt with it, with a smile. Neither of us thought we were infallible. We knew what we had to do, and we did it."

'Cup of coffee together.' "When we went to work in the morning -- and we were the earliest to arrive -- we'd have a cup of coffee together. We felt comfortable together. Our offices were side-by-side. We had a common value system." Adds: "There was an absence of political innuendo on the 25th floor. He was CEO, and I was COO. My role was to run the day-to-day business. He laid out the future course of the company and made sure the money decisions benefited shareholders. He knew who we worked for."

'Ghostbusters.' "Roberto loved the motion picture business. We were lucky we got in and out at the right time. I remember once we screened 'Ghostbusters' together. We both agreed it would never make it." 'Communication.' "It's hard to recall any real disagreements that we had, and we communicated very well. I remember once we had a lawsuit (regarding a certain transaction). The lawyers were looking for documents. There weren't any. They asked, 'how did you make the decision (to do the transaction)?' The answer was, Roberto and I had talked. I told him it was the right thing to do, and he agreed. He told the board it was the right thing to do. That's how we communicated."

'$50 a pair.' "Once he and I were in Majorca together. He found out where we could buy sports shoes for $45 a pair. A week before he went into the hospital, he was in Majorca again. He called me and told me he bought me another pair, but he said, 'Now they're expensive. They're $50 a pair.'"

---

---

© 1997 Beverage Digest LLC. See site copyright notice for further information.