HIGH POINT –  A leading international business executive urged High Point University graduates Saturday to savor their college relationships, but also to prepare to lead the world into a diverse future.

Coca-Cola Company Chairman and CEO Muhtar Kent, who oversees a global company with 93,000 employees worldwide and $32 billion in sales, told nearly 700 graduates they will need their campus relationships in the future.

“Hold those relationships closely,” he told the gathering on the Roberts Hall front lawn. “Let them serve you as models for the way you will engage with all the new people you will meet in your life. Relationships will be at the heart of your future success.”

Kent said he was confident that HPU leaders and faculty had prepared the class of 2010 for leadership.

“You came here for a great education,” he said. “With this gift, you are all now ready to reach to many, many high points. Don’t let anything get in your way.”

Kent, who is of Turkish descent, came to the United States with little more than the cash in his pocket. After he moved to New York City to live with an uncle, he answered a newspaper ad to land his first job at Coca-Cola in 1978.

Growing global diversity will require young leaders to move through many cultures, said Kent, who often speaks on globalization. Coca-Cola has grown globally to sell beverages in more than 200 countries.

“Never lose your ability to adapt to change,” he said. “Your ability to work across borders and different points of view will be essential.”

Kent, whose company is known for developing sustainable communities and enhancing economic development, praised HPU for campus community efforts and urged the graduates to remember to “give back to the world as much as you take.” “The world grows more interdependent every day,” he said. “We are only as strong as the sustainable communities we help support.”

Kent follows a lineup of internationally-known HPU commencement speakers. Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani appeared in 2005; Queen Noor of Jordan in 2006; entertainer Bill Cosby in 2007; U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas in 2008 and last year NASA astronaut Buzz Aldrin.

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Muhtar Kent

Age: 57

Military Service: Turkish Army

Family: Married, two children.

Business: Chairman of the board and chief executive officer of the Coca-Cola Company; president and chief operating officer 2006-08.

Company operations: Joined the company in Atlanta in 1978; 1985 appointed general manager of Coca-Cola Turkey and Central Asia; 1989-95, president of the East Central Europe Division and senior vice president of Coca-Cola International, with responsibility for 23 countries;1995-98 managing director of Coca-Cola Amatil Europe, covering bottling operations in 12 countries; 1999-05, president and CEO of the Efes Beverage Group, a large international public beverage company with operations in South East Europe, Turkey and Central Asia.

Education: Bachelor’s degree in economics from Hull University in England; master’s degree in administrative sciences for CASS business school at City University in London and an honorary doctorate law degree from Oglethorpe University in Atlanta.