Columbia Films’ Puttnam Quits

British film producer David Puttnam, the head of Coca-Cola’s Columbia Pictures Corp., has agreed to step down after just over a year at the helm of the film company that has been battered by management turmoil for a decade.

Puttnam’s decision was announced today by the Coca-Cola Co. in New York. Earlier this month, Coke announced it would merge its Entertainment Business Sector with Tri-Star Pictures Inc., a 5-year-old studio of which it owns 29.3%. Since the merger was announced and Tri-Star Chairman Victor Kaufman was put in charge of the combined operation, there has been speculation about Puttnam’s departure.