According to a recent Press Release, Guinness Nigeria Plc, a subsidiary of Diageo Plc, has announced that, in line with its recent communication on leadership change in the company, Mr. John O’Keeffe will resume in his new role as President, Diageo Africa with effect from 1st July 2015. To replace him as Managing Director/CEO will be Mr. Peter Ndegwa, who is currently Managing Director of Guinness Ghana Breweries Limited. Mr. Soren Lauridsen, who was previously announced as Mr. O’Keeffe’s replacement, has decided to leave his position due to personal, family related reasons effective end June.
Peter holds an MBA from the London Business School and a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Nairobi and is also a qualified accountant. He has over 10 years working experience in East Africa and the United Kingdom with the global accountancy and consulting firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers. Peter joined Diageo in 2004 in East Africa as Strategy Director for East Africa Breweries Limited (EABL), a Diageo’s subsidiary. He was then appointed Sales Director in 2006 and Group Finance Director in 2008. EABL is a high profile GBP1.8bn market capitalisation locally listed business with a turnover of GBP470m and 1, 500 employees.
Peter was appointed Managing Director of Guinness Ghana Breweries Limited
in 2011 with end to end (supply and demand) accountability for the P&L and
commercial priorities of the business. He has overseen a complete reframe
of the business despite some very tough external operating conditions –
substantial currency devaluation, slowing GDP growth and high cost of doing
business.
Peter is a highly effective and accomplished business leader with a proven
track record in strategic and commercial leadership spanning over 20 years.
He excels in orchestrating strategic change, driving organisational and
team alignment and building momentum around business priorities and
delivering superior business results. Peter leverages both his natural
authenticity and strong diverse experience across a set of functional areas
(strategy, sales, finance, consulting) to create impetus in organisations
and teams. He has been particularly successful in creating highly engaged
teams and organisations.
Peter is excited at the opportunity to lead a truly iconic business like
Guinness Nigeria at this time and looks forward to working with the board,
executives and management of the company to deliver its performance
ambition.
John O’Keeffe will continue as a non-executive director of Guinness Nigeria
and, as the Diageo executive responsible for Diageo’s Africa business, will
continue to stay involved with the Nigerian business.
