Nigeria Breweries Plc appoints a Nigerian as new Marketing Director

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…seconds Maria Maggi to Amsterdam

Nigeria’s leading brewery company, Nigerian Breweries Plc has appointed a Nigerian, Emmanuel Oriakhi, as its new Marketing Director while the incumbent, Mr. Franco Maria Maggi, has been transferred on secondment to Amsterdam to take up a higher position.

Mr Emmanuel Oriakhi, who has been on expatriation in Amsterdam in the last four years, is a passionate FMCG Brand Builder. He is highly experienced in the fields of brand building, communication development, insight generation, innovations and brand experiences.

He is also a marketing specialist in Africa & Middle East where he has spent the last 11 years of his career driving volume, profit and equity growth for the Heineken brand. Oriakhi started his professional career as a Banking officer with GTBank in 2002. But he only stayed for eight months.

He kick-started his Nigerian Breweries career as Senior Brand Manager for Heineken and Gulder and in the last 11 years, he has worked in every strategic marketing unit at NB Plc and other companies within the Heineken global family, helping to drive brand equity and sales.

Three years after he joined NB Plc as Brand Manager, he was promoted to Marketing Manager in charge of Marketing Strategy and Planning. He was later deployed to head the Consumer and Market Intelligence, Media & Digital unit.

In that position, he led the company’s initiatives in Consumer, Shopper and Market Intelligence and marketing research analysis. Because of his exceptional performance on the job, Oriakhi was moved to the global Head Quarters of Heineken in Amsterdam where he resumed in 2014 as Heineken Regional Marketing Manager – Global Marketing, Region Africa & Middle East.

While there, he worked across key markets like Algeria, Morocco, Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Lebanon, Ivory Coast and Gulf operations (Dubai, Bahrain and Qatar). Oriakhi also has a rich portfolio pedigree of academic qualifications. He is a 1999 graduate of the University of Benin. But his quest for knowledge and personal development has seen him undertake an Executive Program in Marketing and Strategy at the prestigious Harvard Business School.

In 2015 he again did a Heineken Senior Management Program. He also has a Master’s Degree in Global Management from the University of Salford. Until Mr. Maggi’s transfer to Amsterdam, he has been the Marketing Director and Executive Director at Nigerian Breweries Plc since September 1, 2015. His last role before his present job was Heineken Business Development Manager – Africa, Middle East, Russia & Belarus.

Mr. Maggi served as a Director of Marca Heineken Bohemia XX Stron from November 2012 to August 2015. He started his working career as a Trainee, Heineken, Netherlands in November 2001 and rose to become Heineken Branch Director in October 2010.

He obtained a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing/Sales/Commerce from Syracuse University and a Master’s Degree in Finance/Economics from Universita Degli Studi dell’Aquila. He also obtained a Post Graduate Degree in Business Administration/Management from Southern Denmark School of Business and Engineering, University of Southern Denmark.

For over a period now, NB Plc. has had a successive regime of expatriates marketing helmsmen. Although Nigerians used to occupy the various top management positions in the company, it nevertheless jettisoned the idea after the resignation or retirement of the last former Nigerian occupier Mr Martins Anyanwu.

The company hired Mr. Jadco Verda Lunden to succeed Anyanwu. Upon the completion of Lunden’s contract, he was transferred on promotion to Heineken Europe. His exit paved way for the out-going Marketing Director, Mr Maria Maggi. And the exit of Maggi is certain to pave the way for Nigerians.