KBL MD John Musunga Appointed Guinness Nigeria CEO

Kenya Breweries Limited (KBL) Managing Director John Musunga has been appointed the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Guinness Nigeria PLC, a Diageo subsidiary.

Mr Musunga will officially start in the new position from November 1, 2022, taking over from Mr Baker Magunda, who has decided to take early retirement.

Mr Musunga was appointed MD of KBL in March 2021 and has over the last 19 months led the business as it recovered from the initial impact of COVID-19 and recorded phenomenal growth.

Commenting on his career transition, EABL PLC Group Managing Director and CEO, Ms Jane Karuku, said: “We are extremely pleased with Mr. Musunga’s promotion. His work over the last 19 months has been outstanding, especially his leadership in helping our Kenya business navigate and emerge stronger through the pandemic. He is passionate for driving business results through the power of strong teams and creating an environment where people can be at their best. We wish him the best in the next phase of this career journey.”

Mr Musunga’s appointment marks yet another step in his long-standing corporate leadership journey. Before joining KBL, he previously held leadership roles at GSK, with senior positions in Eastern Africa, Southern Africa and Europe.

Among other industry roles, he has previously served as a Non-Executive Director for the Vision 2030 Board in Kenya and chaired the Kenya Association of Pharmaceuticals Industry and the Kenya HIV/AIDS Business Council.

With his appointment, KBL has once again contributed as a leader to the global Diageo business, continuing the established tradition where the company’s executives have taken on bigger roles within the Group.

In July last year Ednah Otieno joined Diageo in Great Britain as Human Resources Director. She was previously the Group HR Director at EABL.

Later in October, Alvin Mbugua joined Diageo’s Caribbean and Central America region as Managing Director, to steer the company’s largest beer business unit in Latin America and the Caribbean. Before that, he was the managing director for Uganda Breweries Limited (UBL) and previously worked in a series of roles within the EABL having joined in May 2013 as the Group Financial Controller.

And in January this year, Eric Kanja, a seasoned finance professional and former KBL Head of Commercial Finance, joined as Finance Director in Diageo Japan, reinforcing EABL’s credentials as a net talent exporter.

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