SLMG Beverages Private Limited, one of India’s top Coca-Cola bottling partners, has officially appointed Mr. Lagan Shastri as its Chief Executive Officer (CEO), effective August 10, 2026. This pivotal appointment signifies the company’s commitment to its next phase of strategic growth and global expansion in the food and drink packaging sector.
Over the years, SLMG Beverages has positioned itself as a leader in the Indian beverage market through robust customer partnerships, operational excellence, and value creation. Looking ahead, the company aims to develop one of the world’s most respected Coca-Cola bottling businesses, recognized globally for its innovation, execution, and sustainable performance in food and drink sustainable packaging.
Lagan brings nearly three decades of extensive commercial, operational, and general management experience across the beverages, FMCG, and consumer products industries. A seasoned veteran of the Coca-Cola ecosystem, he began his career with Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages (HCCB) as a Management Trainee. Over his twenty-year tenure, he advanced through senior leadership roles in Sales, Marketing, Commercial Profit Centre Management, and Strategy. His journey culminated in his appointment as Executive Director – Market Operations, where he oversaw HCCB’s end-to-end market operations and co-led enterprise strategy alongside the CEO.
In 2020, Lagan became the Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer of DFM Foods Limited. During his tenure, he effectively transformed this private equity-backed listed company into a professional, performance-driven organization. Following that, he joined Reliance Consumer Products Limited (RCPL) as a Strategic Advisor, guiding leadership on commercial strategy and execution across an expanding consumer portfolio. Most recently, Lagan has held strategic advisory roles with promoters, institutions, and emerging businesses, focusing on governance and scaling organizations.
This unique blend of Coca-Cola system expertise, demonstrated experience as a public company CEO, and a comprehensive perspective in the consumer sector underlines his leadership. Known for his inclusive and empowering management style, Lagan excels at building high-performing teams, developing leaders, and aligning strategy with disciplined execution.
Official Statement from the Board of Directors, SLMG Beverages:
“The appointment of Mr. Lagan Shastri marks a monumental milestone as we prepare SLMG Beverages for its next phase of exponential growth. Lagan brings an unmatched executive pedigree across the consumer sector and deep institutional knowledge of the bottling ecosystem. The Board is fully committed to supporting him as we scale our people, manufacturing, digital, and supply chain capabilities to build one of the world’s most admired Coca-Cola bottling businesses.”
Statement from Mr. Lagan Shastri, CEO, SLMG Beverages:
“I am honoured and excited to lead SLMG Beverages at such an important stage in its growth journey. SLMG has built an exceptional foundation, anchored in deep market understanding, enduring customer and system partnerships, and a strong innovation-led culture of execution. We have a tremendous opportunity ahead of us to build on these strengths, accelerate growth, and create an even more agile, innovative, and future-ready organization. I look forward to working closely with the Operational Board, our leadership team, and colleagues across SLMG as we pursue our bold ambition of building a US$10 billion enterprise value and being recognized among the Top 10 Global Coca-Cola Bottlers, while creating sustainable long-term value for all our stakeholders.”
As CEO, Lagan will guide SLMG Beverages in bolstering its market leadership, enhancing digital capabilities, and fostering a culture of high performance. Under his leadership, SLMG will aggressively pursue its bold ambition of achieving an enterprise value of US$10 billion while striving to be recognized among the Top 10 Global Coca-Cola Bottlers. The company will expedite investments in its workforce, manufacturing infrastructure, supply chain excellence, and customer partnerships, thereby building a highly resilient, future-ready enterprise.
Lagan holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Management from the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIM Bangalore) and a Bachelor of Commerce (Honors) degree from Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC), Delhi. He will operate from the Corporate Office in Lucknow and will report directly to the Operational Board of SLMG.
