Coca-Cola Announces new General Manager for East Africa

Coca-Cola Southern & East Africa has announced the appointment of Ahmed Rady as the new General Manager of the East Africa Franchise, operating out of Nairobi, Kenya.

Ahmed Rady has been a key member of The Coca-Cola Company’s Business Unit executive leadership team since 2012 based out of Nairobi and will be taking over from Peter Njonjo, who has recently been promoted to another role within the company as the Business Unit President of the newly formed Coca-Cola West Africa Business Unit based out of Lagos, Nigeria.

Announcing Ahmed’s appointment, Coca-Cola Southern & East Africa Business Unit President Kelvin Balogun said: “Ahmed is an exceptional leader who will bring over 16 years of marketing and operational experience to the job.”

“Ahmed’s success in the business is clear through his work in rolling out some of the most innovative and memorable campaigns in Coca-Cola. He is a highly impressive talent known for his collaborative leadership style and for building high performance teams that are able to develop and implement competitive business strategies.” Kelvin Balogun said.

Reflecting on his appointment, Ahmed Rady said: “I am honored and excited to have been selected to lead the East Africa Franchise. There is tremendous potential for the region, spearheaded by our vibrant, growing youthful and urbanizing population and our unique positioning that will allow our region to benefit rapidly from the accelerating technological change that can unlock growth and leapfrog the limitations and costs of physical infrastructure in important areas of economic life.”

“At Coca-Cola we have a great culture, the broadcast capability in the market and a winning strategy that has enabled us to grow strongly. I look forward to building further on our success with confidence, determination and fierce ambition for East Africa. I am determined to continue Coca-Cola’s momentum in the region based on our diverse product offering, which is resonating so strongly in the market- our unique blend of culture, innovation, diversity and, perhaps most importantly, our adventurous and competitive spirit.”

Ahmed joined The Coca-Cola Company in 2000, as the Brand Manager for Coca-Cola Near East, where he was responsible for managing TCCC brands in Jordan and Yemen. Through his 16 year career, Ahmed has held positions of increasing responsibility within the company with his most recent as Marketing Director for the Central, East and West Africa Business Unit, a position he held since 2012. In this role he was responsible for managing Coca-Cola’s portfolio across 30 countries, and was instrumental in the initiation, planning and implementation of long term objectives within the Business Unit.

Ahmed has extensive experience in marketing and operations in the FMCG sector, having worked in the sector for years at Procter & Gamble Egypt, prior to Joining the Coca-Cola system. Ahmed holds a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering, from the American University in Cairo, Egypt.

The East Africa Franchise comprises of Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Mozambique, and has also seen the addition of the horn of Africa with Djibouti, Somalia, Somaliland and Eritrea being included in the fold.

Read: Procter & Gamble Named East African Employer of Choice