CCBA appoints Alfred Olajide as new vice-president for East and Central Africa operations
KENYA – Coca-Cola Beverage Africa (CCBA) has appointed Alfred Olajide, who has been the vice president and general manager at Nigeria’s Coca-Cola Africa, as the new vice-president for East and Central Africa operations.
The appointment comes after Debra Mallowah announced her exit from the beverages firm barely three years after taking the position.
Ms. Mallowah who was appointed to the Coca-Cola role after leaving the position of chief business development officer at Safaricom is headed to Bayer, a German multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company.
It is reported that she will be joining Bayer Crop Science Europe Middle East Africa as the cluster division head and cluster lead for crop science, according to Bayer.
Ms Mallowah holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Nairobi. She also completed an advanced management programme from the IESE Business School in Spain and an executive programme on FinTech innovation at Said Business School, Oxford University.
She has gained reputable experience having served in various positions including general manager of East & and West Africa at GlaxoSmithKline, vice president for personal care at Unilever Africa, group marketing and innovations director at Diageo East Africa, and BAT group product manager for East Africa.
At her new position, Ms. Mallowah will take over the role from Klaus Eckstein, who is retiring after 25 years of service at the biotech company. Dr Eckstein has also been the senior Bayer representative in Southeast Africa, a role he will hold until November 30.
“I am excited to join the Bayer Crop Science community and the agricultural business sector. I look forward to the opportunity where, together, we will cultivate a brighter future, empowering smallholders, and commercial farmers across the continent, transforming lives and sowing seeds of positive change,” said Ms. Mallowah.
Meanwhile, Olajide holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Leicester with general management certification from Harvard Business School and a Bachelor of Fisheries Management from the University of Ibadan.
He started his career in Coca-Cola as a Franchise manager at CCBA and Coastal Territories Kenya for two years and later was promoted to the Regional Growth Management Manager, East and Central Africa franchise, where he had a one-year tenure.
Olajide climbed the cooperate ladder in the eighth largest Coca-Cola bottling partner worldwide by revenue and the biggest on the continent and was in January appointed as vice president and general manager at Nigeria’s Coca-Cola Africa.
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