Coca-Cola Enterprises (NYSE: CCE) today announced the Company’s board of directors has elected Jan Bennink as director, effective immediately. The Company also announced that Fernando Aguirre will be leaving the board of directors, effective November 30.

Mr. Jan Bennink, 54, was elected to the Coca-Cola Enterprises Board of Directors earlier today. (Photo: Business Wire)

“We are pleased to welcome Jan to our board of directors. His experience in the consumer packaged goods industry, along with his expertise in consumer marketing, will be invaluable to our board of directors and our company,” said John F. Brock, chairman and chief executive officer, Coca-Cola Enterprises. “We look forward to benefiting from Jan’s international business perspective and his knowledge of the key European markets in which we operate.”

An international business leader, Mr. Bennink, 54, has extensive experience in the food and beverage industry. Most recently, he served as chief executive officer of Royal Numico, which is now a division of Danone Group that specializes in baby food and clinical nutrition. From 1997- 2002, Mr. Bennink served as President of the Dairy Division and member of the Executive Committee for Danone Group, a global producer of cultured dairy products and bottled water brands such as Evian, Volvic and Aqua. Mr. Bennink has also held management roles with Joh. A. Benckiser, a German-based company that manufactured cleaning supplies and cosmetics, and Proctor and Gamble.

Mr. Bennink will serve on the Finance and Franchise Relationship Committees of CCE’s board of directors. He previously served on the boards of directors of ABN ARMO Bank, Boots Company Plc, Dalli-Werke GmbH & Co KG, and Kraft Foods Inc. He received a Masters degree in Urban Development and Planning from Rijksuniversiteit Groningen in the Netherlands in 1981. Mr. Bennink will be eligible for re-election to CCE’s board of directors in April 2011.

Mr. Aguirre was elected to the company’s board of directors in 2005. He has served as Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer, and President of Chiquita Brands International, Inc., since January 2004.

As previously announced, Irial Finan did not join the company’s board of directors at the completion of CCE’s recent transaction with The Coca-Cola Company. Mr. Finan, who originally joined the former CCE's board in 2004, has been President of The Coca-Cola Company’s Bottling Investments and Supply Chain since August 2004, and Executive Vice President of The Coca-Cola Company since October 2004.

“Both Fernando and Irial have contributed a level of guidance and oversight that has been critical in helping to shape Coca-Cola Enterprises’ new European business model,” Mr. Brock said. “It has been a privilege to work with them, and our company has truly benefited from their experience and strategic leadership.”

Coca-Cola Enterprises, Inc. is the leading Western European marketer, distributor, and producer of bottle and can liquid nonalcoholic refreshment and the world’s third-largest independent Coca-Cola bottler. Headquartered in Atlanta, Ga., CCE is the sole licensed bottler for products of The Coca-Cola Company in Belgium, continental France, Great Britain, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden. For more information about our company, please visit our website at www.cokecce.com.

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