Guinness Nigeria PLC announced a change in the leadership of Guinness Nigeria PLC with the appointment of Mr. Adebayo Alli (Bayo) as the incoming Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Company with effect from 1st January 2024. This appointment by the Board follows the imminent move of Mr. John Musunga (John), the current MD/CEO into another exciting role within Diageo as the first Managing Director for Southern, West, and Central Africa (SWC). John will remain in the role as MD/CEO of Guinness Nigeria till the end of 2023 to ensure a smooth handover to Bayo in furtherance of the orderly leadership change and succession planning strategy of the business.

The Board thanks Mr. Musunga for his brief but impactful stint as Managing Director of Guinness Nigeria Plc. In his time as Managing Director, the business delivered a stellar performance under difficult conditions and reshaped its strategy while also achieving high employee engagement. The Board wishes Mr. Musunga all the very best in his new role.

Adebayo Alli (Bayo), the incoming Managing Director/CEO, joined Diageo in 2005 as a Packaging Operations Support Manager and has worked in several senior leadership roles across manufacturing, supply, and commercial. He is a well-rounded executive with almost two decades of broad experience and leadership across supply chain, manufacturing, program management, and sales. He has a proven track record of transforming business units, optimizing end-to-end supply chains, leading commercial organizations to breakthrough, and delivering results through a diverse and inclusive team in complex, uncertain, and disruptive environments.

In 2013 Bayo moved to Ethiopia on International Assignment to join Diageo's Meta Abo Brewery Limited's leadership team as the project lead for a business transformation project. He was subsequently promoted toPlant Manager in 2014 and appointed Supply Chain Director in 2015. Bayo brought a unique style of leadership displaying a heightened sense of cultural awareness, inclusive leadership, and a mission mindset to unlock many breakthroughs while working in Ethiopia.

He returned to Nigeria in 2017 as Operations Director and in pursuit of his general management ambition, he transitioned to commercial taking up several senior commercial sales roles in Guinness Nigeria PLC. Between 2019 and 2020, Bayo was appointed and served briefly as the Director for IPS, Reserve & Modern Trade. In 2020, Bayo was appointed as the Commercial Director of Guinness Nigeria.

In his current role as the Commercial Director, he has led the delivery of outstanding NSV growth, doubled Gross Profits, unlocked priority categories, and partnered with Guinness Nigeria's distributors to deliver mutually profitable growth despite significant headwinds. Bayo also transformed the commercial team in Guinness Nigeria to one with a digital-focused mindset and has successfully leveraged technological solutions to drive incremental growth, deliver productivity, embed operational safety, and sustain market share growth. Bayo is known for his deliberate focus on people and his many bold bets across supply and commercial have helped unlock business and personal growth for many of his colleagues thereby ensuring robust succession plans.

His purpose is to add value to the world by inspiring leave everything better than he met it. Bayo is a commercially astute leader with a transformative and collaborative leadership style. He holds a BSc in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Ibadan; and an MSc in Advanced Process Engineering from Loughborough University, United Kingdom.

The Board warmly welcomes Mr. Adebayo Alli and also wishes him all the very best in his new role.