Mr. and Mrs. Roberto Goizueta

Original painting by Ross Rossin.

Roberto Goizueta was born in Havana, Cuba in 1931 to Crispulo Goizueta and Aida Cantera. Roberto grew up in Cuba and attended the Jesuit Colegio de Belen. After his graduation, he spent a year at the Cheshire Academy in Connecticut. Afterward, Roberto went to Yale University and graduated in 1953 with a degree in chemical engineering.

After graduating from Yale, Roberto went back to Cuba to work for his father’s business. Later, Roberto would see an ad for The Coca-Cola Company in Cuba, and in 1954 he began his career with them. Shortly following he would be promoted to chief technical director of five Cuban bottling plants. The following year Fidel Castro rose to power causing Roberto and his family to defect to the United States. There Roberto worked for The Coca-Cola Company in Miami.

In 1964, he was moved to the headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia. That is where at age 35 he became the youngest vice president of technical research and development; to this day he’s still the youngest person to hold this position at the company. Following the resignation of J. Lucian Smith in 1979, Roberto was asked to become president of The Coca-Cola Company. Roberto Goizueta would hold this position for 16 years. During his leadership, he introduced their most popular brands, Diet Coke and Cherry Coke. In addition, Roberto also increased the value of The Coca-Cola Company’s stocks from $4.3 billion to $152 billion.

To this day Roberto Goizueta’s impact is still seen in and outside of The Coca-Cola Company. His wife Olga Goizueta established The Goizueta Foundation which works to provide financial assistance towards education and various charities. Since its start, The Goizueta Foundation has partnered with more than 85 organizations: giving more than $386 million in grants. Now the foundation is operated by his three children: Roberto Goizueta, Olga Goizueta Rawls, and Javier Goizueta. Entering the foundation’s office hangs a life-sized painting of Roberto and his wife Olga Goizueta. Painted by Atlanta portrait artist Ross Rossin, this painting was a surprise gift at Olga Goizueta’s 80^th birthday party.