The urbanization trend is just beginning.
For the next decade, 65 million people annually will migrate to urban centers. That's roughly the equivalent of adding a city the size of London to our planet every 80 days.

Clearly, what you see here with these four global shifts are significant challenges and opportunities that impact the sustainability of our industries... and our planet.

Cost pressures... infrastructure pressures... distribution challenges... cultural challenges... training and development challenges -- the list goes on.

For all of us, it's going to require shifts in thinking... shifts in behavior... indeed, shifts in our world view.

How well our future leaders understand these new realities... accept them... and prepare for them... will determine our success in the coming years.

That's also one of the reasons we at The Coca-Cola Company are proud to support and participate in the Future Leaders Program here at CIES. The more we can do -- together -- as an industry to develop leadership will only strengthen the sustainability of the food and beverage businesses.

Over the past few months, I've given several speeches on college campuses and to executive education groups.

Every single group asks the same question: "What leadership qualities are we looking for in today's rising managers?"

More than ever, we're looking for future leaders who possess a world view. We need people who can move seamlessly across borders and cultures and who feel as comfortable working in Mumbai as they do in Munich.

With 20 million customer outlets around the world, we need people who can speak the language of sophisticated modern trade.
At the same time we need people who are flexible enough to understand the pressures and local cultural nuances associated with being a sole proprietor of a small street-corner bodega or kiosk.

I can't think of more appropriate industries to lead the charge in the global sustainability movement than the food and beverage businesses.

We provide the world with sustenance, comfort and happiness. The world needs our leadership -- and indeed expects our leadership. Truly, there's no better business to be in than ours... and no greater responsibility to bear than leading the world down the path of sustainable growth and progress.

(Muhtar Kent, is President and CEO of Coca-Cola Company. Excerpted from speech made at CIES World Food Summit at Munich, Germany)