Mr Irial Finan, managing director of Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company (CCHBC), resigned yesterday three days after announcing the Athens-based bottler's best ever results.

The timing of Mr Finan's departure surprised analysts who had discussed the firm's strategy with him during an international conference call on Tuesday.

Mr Finan said he stepped down for personal reasons but would stay in Athens for the rest of the year to help his successor make a "seamless transition". He is being replaced by Mr Doros Constantinou, managing director of Frigoglass, a leading manufacturer of coolers for the soft drinks industry.

An Irish-born accountant, Mr Finan joined the Leventis family-owned group 20 years ago when it held three Coke bottling franchises. He moved to Athens in 2001 as managing director of CCHBC, formed through a merger between the Leventis-owned Hellenic Bottling Company and Coca-Cola Beverages, a London-based umbrella for Coke bottling operations in central and eastern Europe. CCHBC bottles Coke in 26 countries with 500 million consumers.

Mr Finan was a member of the team that negotiated a 10-year bottling franchise with the Coca-Cola company this year, together with a new shareholder deal and a capital restructuring. But he was still seen as an outsider, according to Greek analysts.