His mother's father, Marcelo Cantera, owned a portion of a profitable, local sugar mill.

His father, Críspulo, was an architect and a real estate investor who inherited Cantera's sugar interests.

A year later, Goizueta replied to a help wanted newspaper ad for a job with the Coca-Cola bottler in Cuba.

He remained at the helm of The Coca-Cola Company for 16 years until the time of his death, due to complications from lung cancer, in 1997.

In 1982, Goizueta approved the purchase of Columbia Pictures, signaling Coca-Cola's intentions to branch out beyond the soft-drink business.

"The purpose of the Goizueta Foundation is to assist organizations that empower individuals and families through educational opportunities to improve the quality of their lives."

In 1994, after a $10 million gift from the Robert W. Woodruff Foundation, the Board of Trustees at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, named its business school after Roberto Goizueta.