Mercer Executive Forum Concludes 42nd Year with Coca-Cola Company Global Chief People Officer

Kyle Sears

Friday, April 29th, 2022

Mercer University’s Executive Forum, presented by Truist, concludes its 42nd year next week with presentations in Atlanta on May 3 and Macon on May 5 by Coca-Cola Company executive Lisa Chang.

Chang, who serves as global chief people officer for The Coca-Cola Company, will deliver a noon lunch presentation Tuesday at the Capital City Club in downtown Atlanta and a 6:30 p.m. dinner presentation Thursday in the Presidents Dining Room on the Macon campus.

In her role, which she has held since 2019, Chang oversees the company’s talent and people strategies, culture, and diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. She is responsible for leading Coca-Cola’s global people strategy, aligned to the company’s purpose of refreshing the world and making a difference. She and her team are focused on creating an environment where employees can thrive.

Prior to joining Coca-Cola, Chang served as senior vice president and chief human resources officer for AMB Group LLC in Atlanta, a privately held sports and entertainment conglomerate. She has held human resources roles at various companies, including Equifax, Turner Broadcasting System Inc. and The Weather Channel.

Chang serves on the Board of Advisors for Catalyst, a nonprofit organization with a mission to accelerate progress for women through workplace inclusion. She also serves as a board member for the Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Frontier Communications.

She earned her bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Virginia and MBA from Mercer’s Stetson-Hatcher School of Business.

The Executive Forum was founded in 1979 as a business outreach program of Mercer and its School of Business and quickly became an invaluable resource for the business community and professionals across corporate Georgia through the presentation of high-quality management and leadership seminars on timely subjects.

Mercer alumnus William H. Anderson II, then-President Dr. R. Kirby Godsey and founding dean of the business school Dr. Charles H. Andrews worked with the Office of University Advancement to plan, develop and implement the Forum in order to establish a closer relationship with the business community.

Over more than four decades of The Executive Forum, countless students and faculty have benefited from exposure to practitioners, and in turn, members of the Forum have benefited from a relationship with academia. These benefits include business networking opportunities, employee development skills and knowledge of current business trends.

Truist, formerly BB&T, is celebrating its 14th year as presenting sponsor of the Forum. This year’s co-sponsors include The 1842 Inn, Sheridan Construction, Cox Communications, Synovus, Georgia CEO and Georgia Trend.