Coca-Cola has appointed Kenyan business-wiz Debra Mallowah as the new Vice president for its East and Central African franchise.
She will be succeeding Phillipine Mtikikiti, who served as the Vice President & General Manager of the East and Central Africa Franchise since June 2019.
Mallowah’s new role will be based in Nairobi, and she will oversee the development and implementation of business strategies across the East and Central Africa Franchise.
“Debra is a highly accomplished leader with a wealth of experience gained within leading multi-national organizations. She has a strong track record of driving growth and is a versatile leader with deep understanding of customers and markets in Sub-Saharan Africa. She has held senior leadership positions in fast-moving consumer goods, including the beverage industry, manufacturing, and technology companies and I am confident that she will lead the Coca-Cola Franchise in its next phase of growth,” said Bruno Pietracci, President Coca-Cola Africa Operating Unit.
Mallowah is looking forward to her new role.
“My vision is to ensure that the Coca-Cola brand continues to refresh our consumers lives and make a difference in communities we operate in. A lot has changed around the environment we operate in especially in the last one year driven by the ongoing pandemic, but there many growth opportunities for the Coca-Cola business and that is my focus.”
More and more, giant corporations are turning to Black women to steer them towards more sweeping commercial success. And Mallowah’s resume is not to be sniffed at.
Prior to her new appointment, Mallowah worked as the Chief Business Development Officer at Safaricom Plc (Vodafone Group). During her time with the company, she helped develop a blueprint for entry into new geographical territories and expand the business to further growth areas.
Previously, she served as the General Manager for East and Central Africa at GlaxoSmithKline and as the Vice President at Unilever with responsibility for Sub-Sahara Africa. Malloway also served as Group Marketing & Innovations Director at Diageo East Africa (East African Breweries Limited); and Regional Marketing for the company’s division in the United Kingdom.
Congratulations, Debra.
