Guinness Nigeria Appoints Adebayo Alli As MD/CEO

The Board of Guinness Nigeria Plc, has announced a change in the leadership of the Company with the appointment of Mr. Adebayo Alli as the incoming managing director & chief executive officer with effect from January 1, 2024.

This appointment by the Board follows the imminent move of Mr. John Musunga, the current MD/CEO into another role within Diageo as the first managing director for Southern, West and Centra Africa (SWC). Musunga will remain in role as MD/CEO of Guinness Nigeria till end of 2023 to ensure a smooth hand-over to Alli in furtherance of the orderly leadership change and succession planning strategy of the business.

The Board thanked 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, reshaped its strategy while also achieving high employee engagement.

Guinness Nigeria stated that “Alli, 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, optimising end to end supply chains, leading commercial organisations to breakthrough and delivering results through a diverse and inclusive team in complex, uncertain and disruptive environments.”

Speaking on the leadership changes, the chair of the Board of Guinness Nigeria, Dr. Omobola Johnson said “the appointment of Bayo Alli, a member of Guinness Nigeria’s executive leadership team as the incoming MD/CEO speaks to the commitment of Guinness Nigeria and Diageo to nurturing great talent and developing a deep leadership bench in the business.

“The Board is excited at this appointment and looks forward to working closely with Bayo as he takes on this leadership role at a very important time for the business.”

Also, Musunga said “even as I look forward with excitement to my new role in Diageo Africa as the first managing director for Southern, West & Central Africa (SWC), I am thrilled for the business of Guinness Nigeria which I will be leaving in the very capable hands of a strong and committed executive management team now to be led by Bayo, a truly exceptional and visionary business leader. I am confident that Bayo and the management team will take the business of Guinness Nigeria to even greater heights in the coming years.

“As a business, Guinness Nigeria will continue to deliver value to our stakeholders. We are excited to embark on the next phase of our journey, and we are confident that our commitment to Nigeria and our resilience will help us to achieve even greater success in the coming years.”