Coke executives have said they are concerned about the obesity problem and are trying to do the right thing.

But it is completely out of character for a Coke executive to step down early.

In the conference call yesterday, he and other Coke executives said they were "comfortable" with those projections.

This year, Coke executives said they expected the charge to be 13 cents a share.

Coke executives said they planned to expand distribution to other parts of the country then pursue overseas markets.

And when asked about the competition, Coke executives routinely refer to the power of their own brands, not the threat from someone else's.

Within a month, Coke executives met with him.

When the outbreak began, Coke executives took several days to make the matter a high priority.

A Coke executive said the company was "very pleased that both sides have come to an agreement on the settlement principles."

When he ascended to the company's summit in 1981, Coke executives expected the beverage business to increase earnings only 3 or 4 percent a year.