SOUTH AFRICA – Heineken South Africa has appointed Sharon Keith as the new marketing director of the company to oversee the brewer’s broad array of well-loved brands including Heineken, Windhoek, Amstel, Strongbow and Soweto Gold.

Her appointment to this role took place with effect 15 January 2022.

A seasoned marketer, Keith has more than 30 years of global experience in the FMCG and B2B industries.

She has held senior marketing leadership roles at The Coca-Cola Company as marketing director for Southern and East Africa, Diageo as global brand director for Bailey’s, Brandhouse Beverages holding the position of marketing director, senior brand manager Unilever, and most recently at Standard Bank as head of brand / marketing for its Corporate and Investment division.

Her broad array of personal interests and her innate curiosity ensures her a creative platform from which to lead.

She is passionate about ensuring representation at a senior level and within marketing roles, and has worked with a broad array of creative agencies on well-loved brand campaigns in the past.

Jordi Borrut, Managing Director of Heineken South Africa, welcomed the appointment saying, “We are excited to have Sharon join the Heineken South Africa team, as she has a great deal of pertinent experience and many successes in previous roles.

“She has assumed senior responsibilities across sub-Saharan Africa and as well as in her global roles in the USA and Ireland.

“During her time with Brandhouse Beverages, she had also had the opportunity to work with Heinekein directly for three years, so she has some familiarity with our brands and business.”

Keith holds an MBA from the Graduate School of Business at the University of Cape Town as well as a BComm degree from the University of KwaZulu Natal with majors in economics, business administration and psychology.

Keith joins Heineken South Africa, at a time the company’s parent organization readies for the takeover of Distell and Namibia Breweries Limited (NBL) to form a juggernaut in the region’s alcohol industry.

Finalization of the deal will enable Heineken to explore new categories, adding to its portfolio brands such as Amarula, Hunter’s, Savanna, Windhoek and Tafel.

In addition, it will extend and stamp the beer major’s presence in other African markets such as Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, Eswatini, Nigeria, Ghana, Mozambique, Zambia and Kenya, where NBL and Distell have set base.

Distell recently revealed that its shares will be suspended on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) on July 20 and delisted on September 6 upon the conclusion of a scheme to enable finalization of the deal.

The European brewing giant made the acquisition offer in November 2021, that still requires competition authorities’ approval and a majority shareholder vote, the latter scheduled for February 15.

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