Donald Knauss has left his post as president of Coca-Cola North America to become the new chief executive officer at Clorox. He will be replaced by J. Alexander M. “Sandy” Douglas Jr., senior vice president and chief customer officer.

Neville Isdell, chairman and chief executive officer at Coca-Cola commented on the change, saying: “Sandy brings to his new role a deep understanding of our North American business and well-established relationships with our bottlers and key customers. He is uniquely positioned to build on the stable foundation we have established in North America.”

The Coca-Cola Co. also recently announced an agreement that would give it a controlling interest in the Philadelphia Coca-Cola Bottling Co. The companies say the deal was initiated by industry veteran Bruce Llewellyn, chief executive officer at Philadelphia Coca-Cola Bottling Co.

“Twenty-three years ago, I became a part of the Coca-Cola family and it has been a privilege to build the Philadelphia Coca-Cola Bottling Co. into the successful business it has become,” Llewellyn said in a statement. “I have now come full circle and I have asked the Coca-Cola Co. to consider stewarding the Philadelphia Coca-Cola Bottling Co. into the future.”

If approved, the transfer of ownership is expected to occur no later than 2009.

Coca-Cola also has acquired a controlling share in Kerry Beverages Ltd., its bottling joint venture with the Kerry Group in Hong Kong. KBL was formed by Coca-Cola and the Kerry Group in 1993, and has majority ownership in 11 joint ventures across nine provinces in China. KBL also has a minority interest in the joint venture bottler for Beijing.