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Chuck Fruit may have a name with the potential to inspire a thousand puns on both sides of the Atlantic, but it hasn't hindered his elevation to the top of the world's largest beverage company.

Last week, in yet another shake-up of the top-level management team at Coca-Cola's Atlanta headquarters, Fruit was named the new chief marketing officer.

The 57-year-old former vice-president, integrated marketing, replaces the outgoing Daniel Palumbo, who left after only a year in the role.

Palumbo's swift departure was not necessarily a statement about quality, but the fact that Fruit is a home-grown talent clearly illustrates a desire to have people with extensive experience of Coca-Cola occupy the upper echelons of power.

For Fruit has risen through the ranks, amassing a wealth of marketing experience in the process.

After a 15-year spell at Anheuser-Bush, he joined the soft-drinks giant in 1991 as its head of global media services, with responsibility for the realignment and shaping of not only the media strategy but also the management of established sponsorship partnerships with the likes of Fifa and the International Olympic Committee, among others.

It was while holding this post that he oversaw the media proposition for the Coke-drinking polar bears, which went on to provide one of the faces for the "always" campaign of the early 90s.

He commissioned 30 executions, each tailored to a different audience using different creative and media strategies. It earned him a commendation from Peter Sealey, the then senior global marketing chief, who said that no campaign had previously possessed a media strategy so carefully designed for the individual consumer.

Couple this integrated approach to marketing with an inherent sense of professionalism and foresight and it is easy to see how Fruit was selected for promotion by the new Coca-Cola chairman and chief executive, Neville Isdell.

In announcing Fruit's appointment, Isdell said: "Chuck is recognised in both the company and the industry as one of the world's most experienced, insightful and respected marketers.

"Under Chuck's leadership, we will unleash the unmatched talent we possess across the Coca-Cola system to build closer and stronger relationships between our brands and our consumers."

So what does Fruit's appointment mean for Coke's agency arrangements, which incorporate a healthy balance of large global networks and small creative hotshops?

Many expect Coca-Cola to consolidate its business back into the Interpublic-owned McCann Erickson, which has an established relationship with many of Coke's offices but has seen key pieces of business shift from its French, London, Singapore and Vietnam offices during the past 18 months.

If rumours are to be believed, Fruit and Isdell are planning to reaffirm the existing links with Interpublic, at the expense of Berlin Cameron/Red Cell in the US and Soul and Mother in the UK.

The Mother partner Andy Medd, however, hopes Fruit's appointment could prove to be a positive sign for Mother.

He says: "Chuck Fruit champions integrated marketing within Coca-Cola. It's a fundamental belief shared with Mother and true of all our work: we insist that life doesn't just begin and end with a 30-second ad and it's particularly true of our Coca-Cola campaign."

With regard to his intentions for Coca-Cola's roster agencies, Fruit denies he has any gameplan.

He says: "I am concerned with continuing to sell the very best communications and creative we can. The biggest opportunity we have is to harness the enormous amount of marketing talent we have around our worldwide system and share the remarkable work that's going on."

However, he adds: "The task in front of me now is to take a thorough review of the work we are producing at the moment."

Fruit will be charged with continuing the "real" campaign, conceived by Berlin Cameron/Red Cell in the US, which, after many millions invested in market research, took over from "always" and "enjoy".

Indeed, Mother's UK version of the ad, the "I wish" spot, is selected by Fruit as his favourite ad.

He says: "With the Coca-Cola 'real' campaign that we have been utilising for the last year, almost all of the results are very encouraging, and just from my vantage point it's exactly the right creative space that the brand should be in right now."

The marketing strategy that he inherits was fashioned by the outgoing chief operating officer, Steve Heyer, who quit the company this month just weeks after being passed over for the job of chairman and chief executive.

Some predict that Fruit holds many of the same beliefs as his predecessor. Both expound on the necessity for advertising agencies and brands to embrace new business models. Both talk of the need to move away from pure TV advertising and move closer to programming.

Fruit says: "I think we will see, naturally, a continued reduced reliance on the traditional 30-second TV commercial. In many developed media markets, they are less effective than they have been in the past. And there are a number of new alternatives: online branding and programme planned development with branding."

Fruit has a reputation for a creative attitude towards media. In the 80s, when the newly launched cable industry was battling to stay on its feet, and more exclusive media was the name of the day, Fruit reportedly ploughed considerable sums of money into then unknown operations such as MTV.

While working as a buyer for Budweiser, he spotted an opportunity to strike up a relationship with a small sports channel, and set an example that others were to follow.

Innovation and a fresh approach to media is what's needed if Coca-Cola is to see its saliency improve.

Classic Coke remains the company's leading brand, despite in-roads into other aspects of the soft-drinks market, with other calorie-controlled options, light soft drinks and juices.

The most notable bid, into the bottled water market with Dasani, was publicised in the UK for all the wrong reasons.

But Coca-Cola has since licked its wounds and attempted to take something positive away from the episode.

Fruit says: "One of the lessons we learned is to be even clearer and more precise in our communications with the trade and media and with our field organisation."

His response is cool and measured, as you would expect of someone who has witnessed numerous changes in his 30-year marketing career.

Although there remains no serious rival in the cola market - Coke was number one in Interbrand's 2003 ranking of the top 100 global brands, while Pepsi came in 23rd - Fruit needs actively to defend its position.

But he seems well-equipped to take the long view, having seen so many agencies come and go.

But, perhaps more importantly, within Coca-Cola there has always been a sense that to succeed you need to understand the company and have long-term support. Fruit appears to have the right cultural fit to prosper.

Age: 57

Lives: Atlanta

Family: Wife, Sharon

Favourite ad: Coca-Cola "I wish"

Describe yourself in three words: Relentless team builder

Greatest extravagance: Sailing school

Most admired agency: I don't admire agencies, I admire work

Living person you most admire: Nelson Mandela

Motto: Business is all about relationships