Colleagues are remembering Darian Chustz today as an exemplary and aggressive leader in the Baton Rouge business community, as well as a devoted family man and friend. Chustz, 42, president of Coca-Coca Bottling United in Baton Rouge, died this morning.
“I knew from the first day I met him that he was going to make it. And he has,” says Gary Sligar, who served as mentor for Chustz and whom Chustz succeeded as president in 2006. “He matured into a wonderful corporate citizen. I was really so proud of him. He was a family man, first, last and always. Employees loved him, because he was one of them. I miss him terribly. We all do. What he does lives on.”
Baton Rouge Area Chamber President/CEO Adam Knapp remembers Chustz was a role model for local business leaders.
“He was the kind of guy you could rely on, and I did many times,” he says. “It floors you when someone in his prime could be taken so young. It’s a huge loss for the Baton Rouge area.”
Kathy Arnes, Junior Achievement of Baton Rouge president, remembers Chustz as “an absolutely wonderful board member and volunteer. He definitely made an impact.”
John Noland, who sits on the Coca-Cola Bottling board, praised Chustz’s energy, work ethic and friendliness. “You wish everybody was Darian Chustz,” he says.
John-Paul Funes, president of the Our Lady of the Lake Foundation—of which Chustz was on the board of directors—recalls Chustz as “one of a kind; just an incredible guy. This is tragic in every way.”
Funeral arrangements have not yet been set. Melanie Clark, the company’s vice president of marketing, says the Chustz family is currently meeting with clergy to finalize plans and that she was unsure when services would be decided.
Chustz is survived by his wife Lisa, sons Austin and Grant and daughter Claire. To read a profile of Chustz from 2009, when he was named Business Report‘s Young Businessperson of the Year, click here. You can also read an Executive Spotlight Q&A with Chustz from 2010, when he participated in the Winter Olympics torch relay, here, and see a video in which Chustz explains why Louisiana was the logical choice for Coca-Cola’s regional distribution hub here.
