AFRICA – Coca-Cola Beverages Africa (CCBA), the world’s 8th largest Coca-Cola bottler by revenue, has announced the appointment of Natasa Prodanovic as the new Chief People and Culture Officer, effective February 2024.
Natasa joined Coca-Cola HBC in 2006 as HR Service Manager before being promoted to Country People and Culture Director. In 2015, she launched the Talent CoE, building strong talent teams in the center and across markets.
In 2019, Natasa took over the role of Head of Agile CoE, where she introduced new ways of working and played an instrumental role in developing new structure archetypes for many Hellenic functions.
Since February of last year, Natasa has been the Head of the Lean and Agile Centre of Excellence (CoE) at Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company (HBC) in the Strategy and Transformation function, where she defined the roadmap for rolling out lean and agile ways of working.
Natasa is an award-winning leader with 24 years of experience, having led enterprise-wide initiatives behind talent and new capabilities and their integration into HR’s vision and practices.
CCBA has over 17,000 employees across its operations in Africa, with more than 42 bottling plants in 15 countries.
CCBA accounts for about 40 percent of all Coca-Cola volumes sold in Africa, boasting a diverse pan-African footprint servicing over 600,000 outlets that serve a combined population of over 350 million people across the continent.
Recently, CCBA, through its subsidiaries in Africa, has been on a mission to empower women across its value chain.
Coca-Cola Kwanza Ltd launched its latest transformative initiative dubbed ‘Mwanamke Shujaa’ that seeks to enlighten, equip, and empower women in Tanzania.
In collaboration with Oryx Gas and the Institute of Social Work (ISM), the initiative aims to facilitate economic inclusion for women through blending education, employability, and entrepreneurship training.
In 2023, it empowered more than 1,000 vendors, equipping each woman with a 15kg gas cylinder, a two-plate gas cooker, an apron, a cooking table, and a crate of soft drinks.
Concurrently, Coca-Cola Beverages Uganda (CCBU) has taken significant strides to inspire inclusivity in the workplace. To support women employees and help them balance the demands of their home and professional lives, CCBU has established a nursing area where mothers can express and store milk in comfort and privacy.
The area is equipped with a refrigerator for milk storage, a cold pack to transport milk home safely, comfortable chairs, and a washing area to keep everything sanitary.
Catherine Gita, the Director for People and Culture at CCBU, said the company was happy to provide the resources needed for mothers to take care of their children and still give their best at work.
“Working mothers face a challenge when it comes to breastfeeding due to the long hours away from their babies,” she acknowledged.
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