Atul Singh, at present the company's East, Central and South China division head, takes charge with immediate effect. This will be his second stint in India.  He was spearheading Coke's franchisee bottling operations in India between 1999-2002.

The departure of Gupta, who has been on medical leave for the last many days, was anticipated after the company divested him of some of his powers when it hived off the bottling operations into a separate entity.

As per the new structure, John Ustas, who was heading Coca-Cola's bottling operations in Norway and was appointed as the CEO of the Company-owned Bottlers in India early last month, would report to Steve Buffington, the regional director of Latin America and Asia for Bottling Investments.

The entry of an expatriate had put a question mark over the continuance of Gupta, who till then was looking after all functions, including running of CoBos.

In his new capacity, Gupta was left with the charge of the concentrate business, franchise bottlers and marketing operations.

Coca Cola India division comprises India, Sri Lanka, Bhutan and franchisees as well as bottling operations in India. In India, the company has 24 CoBos and 26 franchisee- owned bottling plants. These are housed under its subsidiary called Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages.

Gupta joined Coca-Cola India in 1997 as vice-president, Marketing. Prior to Coke, he was with Hindustan Lever Ltd [Get Quote]. He took over as Coca Cola chief in July 2003, becoming the second Indian to head Coca-Cola in India. The first was American-Indian Jaidev Raja.

Notwithstanding the displeasure of Gupta over the restructuring, Coca Cola had termed the major shake up in the top management in India as structural changes which are part of "long-term strategic initiatives" to enhance focus on marketing and bottling operations.

The company has said the new set-up will create a dynamic partnership between the division and bottler operations by ensuring optimal strategic alignment.

"The new operational structure will enable the division and bottling operations provide greater focus on their respective roles in order to roll out various long-term strategic initiatives planned for realising business potential," it said.