vol. XX no. 1 Page 1 2 3 The Couple That Learns Together, Earns Together Francisco Bethencourt, director of New Ventures for Coca-Cola Africa, says that marketing to people in Africa is not too much different from marketing to consumers in the United States or Europe. “At first it was somewhat surprising to me, but now it makes perfect sense,” said Bethencourt. “Basically, it comes down to ‘consumers are consumers,’ and they have similar aspirations and basic needs no matter where they live or which culture they come from.” Francisco should know. Both he and his wife, Carmen Bohoyo, are from Spain. Both engineers, they came to the United States when Francisco was offered an opportunity at Coke’s headquarters in Atlanta. “At the time, Carmen was working for 3M, and we had been looking into MBA programs because we both knew that if we wanted to continue to advance in business, we would need a solid business education,” said Francisco. They looked at several schools in and around Atlanta and decided on Robinson’s Executive MBA program due to its great value and international focus. Then they did what few couples would dare – they enrolled in the same class. “It was a bit strange at the beginning, but having the same schedule and common objectives worked out well,” said Francisco. Now, living with their two children in Atlanta, Francisco and Carmen are each fulfilling their own aspirations in the business world – Francisco at Coke and Carmen as a fashion entrepreneur – proving Francisco’s point that professional aspiration and family balance are not mutually exclusive. Previous Page | Top

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