Isdell will remain as chairman until the company's annual shareholders' meeting in April 2009, Coca-Cola said today in a statement.
Kent has worked at Coca-Cola, or its bottlers, since 1978. He has been groomed as Isdell's successor since December 2006, when the board promoted him to chief operating officer.
Kent negotiated Coca-Cola's $4.1bn acquisition of Glaceau Vitaminwater this year and the $590m purchase of a Philippines bottler.
Before becoming chief operating officer, Kent ran Coca-Cola's international operations, which accounted for 80% of profit and over $15bn in sales.
Prior to that, Kent ran Coca-Cola's Asia unit and was also chief executive of Turkish brewer and bottler Efes Beverage Group in the early 2000s.
A decade ago, Kent was investigated for short-selling stock of Australian bottler Coca-Cola Amatil, when he was a senior manager at the company.
The sale came hours before the company warned investors its profit would be less than analysts estimated.
However, Kent was not charged with any wrongdoing and later said the trade was an honest mistake.