Adetu remains as EABL board member after Nigeria posting
Former EABL chief executive Seni Adetu. He will remain in the board of the brewing company. Photo/File
Former East African Breweries Limited (EABL) managing director Seni Adetu will remain in the board as the brewer shook up its executive suite this month.
Mr Adetu has been listed by EABL among the board members as an executive member, 10 days after he left the helm of the company in July 1 following the appointment of Devlin Hainsworth as new head.
READ: New EABL chief executive will find a full in-tray on his first day Mr Adetu, who has been at the helm of the brewer since 2009, is the CEO of Guinness Nigeria Plc, which was headed by Mr Hainsworth and majority-owned by Diageo that also holds a 50.03 per cent stake in EABL.
READ: Adetu exits as EABL changes top officials in growth plan Steve Gannon, a former managing director of Diageo Cameroon, also took office as head of Tanzania’s Serengeti Breweries from Mr Richard Wells while Christian Von Den Heide settled in as EABL’s group supply chain director.
It also hired Alison Kariuki-Mbuthia as legal counsel of Kenya Breweries Limited and poached Joe Muganda from BAT as the managing director of its Kenyan unit replacing Baker Magunda, who has moved to West Africa as the managing director of Guinness Cameroon.
“All board appointments or changes are made in line with corporate governance principles and any future changes in board seats will be made or announced in accordance with CMA requirements,” said Brenda Mbathi, the group corporate relations director at EABL in response to Mr Adetu’s stay in the board.
The need for growth has seen EABL review its talent in what has led to a shake-up of its executive suite over the past year, culminating in the increase in senior managers seconded from Diageo.
The company appointed Tracey Barnes in January as the finance director, Pennefather James (group strategy director) in October and Abbey Mark as group compliance and ethics director from Diageo.
Mr Adetu had headed EABL since July 2009 when he replaced Gerald Mahinda after serving as managing director of Guinness Ghana Breweries Limited.
Guinness Nigeria generated sales equivalent to Sh68.7 billion in 2011 compared to EABL’s Sh44.8 billion.
Mr Hainsworth, who holds a history degree from Cambridge, has been working for Diageo since 1999.
He takes up leadership at a time when the Diageo-led EABL is locked in a battle for control of the East Africa beer market with UK-listed brewer SAB Miller and Heineken.
The changes come when the brewer’s accumulated cash has been depleted by new acquisitions including the purchase of a 51 per cent of Serengeti Breweries Limited for Sh4.9 billion.
Its cash position stood at Sh491 million in June compared to Sh6.7 billion in June 2010.
