AFRICA – Coca-Cola East & Central Africa has appointed Phillipine Mtikitiki as new General Manager in charge of regional operations, effective June 1

Ms Mtikitiki will take over from Ahmed Rady who has been appointed General Manager of the firm in Egypt.

Mtikitiki will be based in Nairobi, Kenya and will be responsible for developing and managing the business plan of the US-based multinational across the East and Central Africa region.

The South African national was previously the regional franchise manager for Southern and East Africa where she was leading and executing Coca-Cola’s business strategy across Mozambique, Namibia, Botswana and Zambia.

Bruno Pietracci, the company’s President in-charge of the Southern & East Africa Business Unit (SEABU), said the management changes aimed at strengthening Coca-Cola’s operations in the region.

“With Phillipine’s expertise and track record, I am confident that her leadership will take the business to new heights in this region, which is full of opportunity and growth,” Pietracci said.  

Ms Mtikitiki has experience in a fast-moving consumer goods, marketing, planning and commercial strategy.

“I am thrilled to have been appointed as the first female General Manager for the East and Central Africa Franchise.

“The Franchise has been growing steadily over the last few years, supported by the region’s rapid urbanisation and expanding population.

“These trends also form the backdrop for our drive towards innovation and creating consumer-centric brands, which I’m very excited to lead,” said Mtikitiki.

She holds a master’s degree in Business Administration (MBA) from Henley Business School, a bachelor’s degree in business administration and Honours in Economics from the University of KwaZulu-Natal.

Mtikitiki joined Coca-Cola Company in 1998 as a graduate associate and over 13 years, she took up various roles in the company across the business unit and it’s bottling entities in South Africa.

In 2011, she rejoined the company as Channel Manager for Wholesale, South Africa and later got promoted to Head of Commercial Planning, in 2013.

Mtikitiki was instrumental in stewarding shopper and channel strategy, leading strategic projects, building shopper insights pipeline, developing planning processes, and tracking tools and processes.

In 2017, she took on the role of Regional Franchise director for Zambia, Botswana, Namibia and Mozambique, where she led some of these countries in re-franchising under Coca-Cola Beverages Africa – Project Savannah Phase 2.

Until this appointment, she briefly served as operations director for Coca-Cola Kenya and Tanzania.

Coca-Cola is the world’s largest beverage company, offering over 500 brands to people in more than 200 countries.