Nairobi, September 11 2018; Peter Ndegwa, the former managing director of Guinness Nigeria Breweries Plc, has been named the new head of Diageo’s operations in Europe to become the first African to hold this position. Ndegwa took over this position in July and he has been working in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Diageo is a British global company that makes alcoholic beverages. Its subsidiaries include Hennessy and Guinness Ghana Breweries. Diageo owns part of East African Breweries Limited.
Background
Ndegwa is an accountant with an MBA from the London Business School and a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Nairobi. He joined Diageo in 2004 as the strategy director for East African Breweries Limited (EABL). Before joining EABL, Ndegwa worked at PwC where he was the sales director between 2006 and 2008. The new general manager of Diageo Europe also headed Guinness Ghana Breweries between 2011 and 2015.
Track Record
Ndegwa has an impressive track record where he grew sale revenues by double digits while heading Guinness Breweries in Ghana and Nigeria.
When he took over Guinness Nigeria Breweries in July 2015, the company was undergoing a tough time thanks to declining oil prices which were in turn negatively affecting the country’s economy. Ndegwa turned the situation around through the diversification of products and a rights issue to boost growth.