Monument Distillers Nigeria Limited announces the appointment of Mr Godwin Oche as CEO

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Mr. Godwin Oche

Monument Distillers Nigeria Limited (MDN) launched in Nigeria in March 2019 with the acquisition of the 1960 Rootz Bitters brand and the state-of-the-art manufacturing plant. Since then, the company has gone from strength to strength, moving Rootz’ production facility to Lagos.

Mr. Godwin Oche

The board is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr Godwin Oche as Chief Executive Officer of MDN. Mr Oche joins from AB Inbev where in January 2016 as a result of the integration of SABMiller and AB InBev, Mr Oche was made the Regional Director/ General Manager of AB Inbev’s brewery in Onitsha.  In 2017, he was later appointed National Sales Director of AB Inbev’s Nigerian business and is credited with championing the business’s growth agenda to delivering significant volume and market share growth, ultimately contributing to growing the company from fourth- to second-largest beer company in Nigeria.

Commenting on this, Michael Ajukwu, Board Member, MDN, said:  “We are thrilled that someone of Mr Oche’s calibre and experience is joining our Monument Distillers Nigeria team. We are looking forward to Mr Oche making a big impact on our business and accelerating the growth of our brands – which he understands well given he worked on them when at AB InBev.  We believe Mr Oche will enjoy the challenges of moving from a beer business to a spirits business and that he is the right person to drive our vision of building MDN into a market-leading spirits company in Nigeria.”

In addition to owning its own brands, MDN has the distribution rights in Nigeria to a range of global brands from leading US spirits company, Sazerac, including Southern Comfort, Popov Vodka, Myers Rum, Paddy’s Irish Whisky, Firewater, and Buffalo Trace Bourbon. Furthermore, MDN will soon be launching international brands, Jose Cuervo Tequila and Bushmills Whiskey to add to their growing portfolio which already includes Four Cousins Wine, and international brands Bannerman’s Finest Scotch Whisky, and Grace du Roi Fine Wine, owned by MDN’s parent company Kensington Distillers & Vintners.

Mr Oche is a Chemical Engineer by training and his qualifications include a PGD in Business Administration and an MBA in Marketing from Enugu State University of Science and Technology Business School. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Management Consultant (FIMC), a member of the Nigeria Institute of Marketing (MNIM), a member of the Nigeria Institute of Personnel Management (MIPM) and is also a Certified Management Consultant (CMC) by the International Council of Management Consulting Institute (ICMCI).

About Monument Distillers Nigeria

Kensington Distillers & Vintners (KDV) is the holding company for Monument Distillers, which has operations in Nigeria and Kenya and plans to roll out business in other African markets as part of its long-term vision to building a pan-African drinks business.

Monument Distillers counts among its high-profile board members: Michael Ajukwu – who also sits on the boards of International Breweries plc (part of AB InBev), Sterling Bank plc, Novotel PH and Tiger Brands SA.  And Olayemi Cardoso, who also serves as Chairman of Citibank Nigeria and Chairman of Africa Venture Philanthropy Alliance (AVPA).

Kensington Distillers & Vintners (KDV) is a premium drinks business with a strong footprint in Southern Africa through its businesses Monument Distillers Nigeria and Monument Distillers Kenya. KDV has developed a reputation for offering premium drinks of the finest quality, made with exceptional craftsmanship.