This appointment makes Alli, the first Nigerian to hold the position since 2014 when Seni Adetu, stepped down as the company’s MD/chief executive officer.

According to a statement by the company on Tuesday, 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 statement said.

It said Alli 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,” It added.

The incoming MD who is a mechanical engineer by training, has been with Diageo since 2005. He has held a variety of leadership roles, including project lead for a business transformation project in Meta Abo Brewery Limited, Ethiopia.

In 2013, he 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 to Plant Manager in 2014 and appointed Supply Chain Director in 2015.

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.

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.

Here is a timeline of Guinness’s past MDs

John Musunga (Kenyan)

Before Alli, John Musunga, a Kenyan joined Diageo in March 2021 and was managing director of Kenya Breweries Limited. Before this, John had a highly successful career at GSK where he gained more than 25 years of experience in senior local, regional, and global roles.

Baker Magunda (Kenyan)

Magunda, a Kenyan took over from Peter Ndegwa as the CEO of Guinness Nigeria. Baker Magunda holds a Bachelor of Economics [Honours] from Makerere University Uganda.

He joined Diageo in 1999 as marketing manager, Uganda Breweries Limited and has held several increased leadership roles including Managing Director Uganda Breweries Limited, Managing Director Kenya Breweries Limited, and Managing Director Diageo Guinness Cameroon SA. Baker joins Guinness Nigeria from Diageo-owned Meta Abo Breweries in Ethiopia where he was the Managing Director.

Peter Ndegwa (Kenyan)

Peter Ndegwa was the MD of Guinness Nigeria and oversaw the transformation at the company, including the successful Rights Issue and implementation of the productivity programme.

John O’Keefe (Irish)

Keefe, an Irishman was Adetu’s successor. O’Keefe started his career as a graduate trainee for Guinness Ireland, holding many marketing roles in Ireland before moving to Jamaica as Marketing Director.

He became the Managing Director, of Russia and Eastern Europe based in Russia before returning to Ireland to take up his current role as Global Head of Diageo Innovation and Global Head of Beer & Baileys. O’Keefe has been a Board member of Guinness Nigeria Plc for the past two years.

Seni Adetu (Nigerian)

Adetu, stepped down as the company’s managing director/chief executive officer in November 2014, after two and half years in that position. Prior to taking to the position, Adetu was the managing director of Guinness Ghana Breweries Ltd; and East African Breweries Ltd.

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From the available recent financial data, Guinness Nigeria Plc certainly is not having a smooth ride in recent times, though the management of Nigeria’s premier brewery has continued to paint a rosy picture of its financials.

Guinness’ recent number is burdened by poor performance. Revenue has sustained mixed performance (2.12%, -3.03, -10.83%, 8.51% ) from financial year ended (FYE) 2012 to 2015 even as profit after tax continues to bleed (fell 18.7%, 19.14%, 19.30%, and 18.58% from FYE 2012 to FYE 2015 in a row) due to higher financial charges, operating expenses and cost disadvantages compared to major competitors.

Market survey suggests that a number of factors accounted for this sustained lacklustre performance, including complex and competitive operating environment, slowing premium segment growth, and slowing discretionary spending as well as Guinness’ pricing review among others.

New Development
However, in other to salvage the company from present predicament, Diageo Plc, parent company of Guinness Nigeria Plc has embarked on management restructuring that has seen it change its chief executives three times within just eight months.

Recalled that Guinness relieved Seni Adetu’s appointment as its Managing Director after two and half-years in that position and appointed John O’Keefe, an Irish, as replacement in November 2014.

Adetu was said to have been shoved aside, allegedly because Guinness Nigeria Plc results had been poor since he became Managing Director.

Yet, it appeared that the taunted Midas Touch of O’Keefe could still not perform the Irish magic in Nigeria. Like Adetu, O’Keefe was replaced by Soren Lauridsen effective July 2015.

With less than six months in the saddle, there are no justifiable reasons to believe that trouble times are over yet.

But then, consciously of not being caught completely napping, Diageo is carefully mapping out strategies that will give it unassailable control over the brewing giant.

In a statement in September 2015 said, it has informed the Board of Directors Guinness Nigeria and also notified the Nigerian Stock Exchange of its intention to increase its equity stake in Guinness Nigeria to 70 percent from its present 54.3 percent equity holding.

Financial Performance
In its results for the full year ended June 2015, Guinness Nigeria Plc, recorded a 8.51 percent year-on-year growth in revenue to N118.5 billion ($59.8 million) compared with N109.2 billion in 2014. This was the first growth since 2012.

It would be recalled that the company revenue declined from N126.3 billion in June 2012 to N122.4 billion in 2013 and down to N109.2 billion in 2014.

In our opinion, the improvement in revenue was due to the benefits of successful products innovations launched in the previous year such as Orijin Bitters and Orijin Ready-to-Drink and the change in leadership.

On a quarterly basis, the company’s revenue of N33.75 billion in the fourth quarter June 2015 improved by 14.5 percent and 8.2 percent compared with N29.5 billion and N31.2 billion respectively in the third quarter to March 2015 and the fourth quarter to June 2014.

However, Guinness Nigeria Plc full-year net income fell 19 percent to N7.8 billion ($39 million) as weaker economic growth hurt consumption of pricier beer brands in the continent’s most populous country.

The slump in profit came as Nigeria suffered from lower crude prices, with government revenues declining and public sector workers going unpaid for months. Economic growth was 2.4 percent on an annualized basis in the second quarter, down from 6.5 percent a year earlier.

“Following the challenging macro-environment and the squeeze on household wallets, growth in the mainstream segment has been constrained, with more growth seen” among Guinness’s cheaper brands, Tunde Abidoye, a Lagos-based analyst at FBN Capital Ltd., said in a recent research note.

Cost to sales ratio

According to the Guinness audited report, 5-year average cost to sales ratio for the beer company stood at 65.1 percent.

Common size analysis of the major player in the industry indicates that Nigerian Breweries (NB) holds cost leadership 146.6 percent 5-year average cost to sales compared to Guinness 65.1 percent 5-years average cost to sales.

The above mentioned recent development in Guinness Nigeria Plc is expected to create a platform for improved efficiency and economies of scale resulting from the streamlining of operations, cost savings from increased efficiency in procurement, supply chain management and support functions are expected to ultimately enhance shareholder value.

Profitability

New Mail Nigeria Online research estimated Guinness net profit-margin 5-year average at 10.23 percent. Return on Equity (ROE) averaged 28.8 percent in five years.

Cursory look at the year under review showed that both net profit margin and ROE stood at lowest five year.

We also noticed that both indices have been on downward trend since 2011. Net profit margin dropped from 14.5 percent in 2011 to 11.6 percent in 2012, 9.7 percent in 2013, 8.8 percent in 2014 and 9.11 percent in 2015. Similarly, ROE fell from 44.5 percent in 2011 to 16.12 in 2015.

Market Share
The Nigerian brewing space can be approximated as an oligopolistic-duopoly, with two major players controlling about 90 percent of the market, while other fringe players control a thin margin of the market.

Nigerian breweries, without mincing words, is the biggest player in the sector with a total installed capacity of 15.4mhl, 61 percent volume share. Guinness Nigeria Plc is the second biggest player with 5.5mhl installed brewing capacity and 27 percent share, while other players like International breweries Plc (0.5mhl), Champion Breweries and JOS Breweries are among the fringe players with 5.0 percent market share.

Liquidity
Another area that the management of Guinness Nigeria Plc needs to improve on is its assets quality. This is because both current and quick ratios fall short of common rule of thumb.

Though, a review of the industry showed a similar trend among other players in the sector. The current ratio which expresses the relative relationship between current assets and current liabilities of Guinness stood at average of 0.89:1 in five years.

Similarly, Quick ratio (acid -test ratio) which measures the debt-paying ability of a company also shows that the company would not be able to meet its financial obligation as when due.

Quick ratios of Guinness stood at average of 0.53:1 in five years while it stood at 0.49:1 in 2015. All fell below 1.5:1 minimum value for a company with strong assets base.

Conclusion
Analysis of the beer market trends in Nigeria linked this performance drags to extreme rivalry in the sector, likely market cannibalism, slowing premium brands growth and sustained soft discretionary spending.

In all, the propose 70 percent takeover stake in Guinness Nigeria Plc by Diageo plc and recent management reshuffle should keep them at arm length with other players in the industry in term of financial ratios.

In the words of Babatunde Savage, Chairman, Guinness Nigeria Plc, change in leadership is expected to improve the company’s fortunes.

“We have had an encouraging year so far and we believe that we are in a position to finish well in spite of the challenges of the operating environment.

“Recent changes in our management with the arrival of Soren will only further strengthen the pool of seasoned experience we have to help us implement our strategy to win in the market place,” Savage said.

For now, it’s yet to be seen how the changes would positively impact on the fortunes of Guinness.

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The 2015 Retail Congress Africa which will hold from Tuesday 3rd to Wednesday 4th November, 2015 at the Westin Hotel, Cape Town, South Africa, will have as its theme, “Driving the pillars of growth: Expansion, Innovation, Operational Excellence and Consumer Knowledge.”

The congress, launched in 2013 and which serves as the only dedicated and premier C-level strategic retail congress specific to Pan-African markets, is expected to bring together senior members from both the domestic and international retailer businesses who would hold discussions on how to advance and accelerate the growth of retail markets in Africa’s budding economy with a view to maximise the opportunities available on the continent.

The event also provides an invaluable opportunity for retailers to share ideas, be inspired by over 50 expert speakers and network with those directing the future of the industry.

Prominent among leaders already confirmed for the Congress are Greg Solomon, CEO McDonalds, South Africa, and Therese Gearhart, President, South Africa, The Coca-Cola company.

Other leading Nigerian professionals expected to speak at the congress include Idy Enang, Managing Director, L’Oreal Central West Africa; Tara Fela-Durotoye, Chief Executive Officer, House of Tara; and Layi Gobir, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Smart Mark Limited.

Regarded as one of Nigeria’s most astute business administrators, Adetu, is a corporate icon of immense status having had a distinguished 30 years non-stop working experience with multinational companies at home and abroad.

He is also a former runner-up, Forbes CEO of the year, East Africa

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Yet the continent continues to struggle for existence, as its state of affairs- from political independence to the promise of economic emancipation- have confined it to the apron strings of the dubious colonialists it gleefully ushered to the airstrips and harbours several decades ago.

While much of the blame for Africa’s perpetual underdevelopment has been laid, justly, at the doorstep of its political leaders, whose ineptitude, greed and thoughtlessness have rendered their respective economies prostrate as they rule over a desensitized mass of people who have been orientated towards corruption, puerile politicking, terrorism, kidnappings, genocide, xenophobia, internecine wars, and the like.

On the other hand, it gladdens one to know that a few business leaders have taken up the challenge to empower their people, particularly young people, by building a culture of leadership, entrepreneurship and social investment.

It is instructive that if they do nothing, Africa, and the wealth they have painstakingly built to generate profit and employment for future generations, might be wiped out by political recklessness and ideological belligerence that is consuming the continent.

Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, has stepped up his desire to increase the quality and quantity of young African leaders by establishing, in conjunction with the World Economic Forum, a fellowship programme aimed at raising scores of young African leaders.

Tony Elumelu’s TEEP, a multi-year training, mentoring and funding programme, awarded $5,000 grant to each of the first one thousand young African entrepreneurs last March; with a mission to grow ten thousand African start-ups and businesses over the next ten years.

Technology pioneer, Demola Aladekomo, whose passion to use technology to solve social problems inspired the building of the world’s largest internet café in 2008, according to the Guinness Book of World Records, has continued his over twenty years commitment to youth empowerment through the Volunteer Corps and the management trainee programme that has developed today’s crop of senior managers in various sectors of corporate Nigeria.

Seni Adetu, a former managing director of Guinness Nigeria PLC, mentors young people by helping them hone their analytical skills and building their personal brands.

Spurred by the words of Goethe that, “Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it”, Patrick Awuah quit a lucrative post at Microsoft to set up Ashesi University in Accra, Ghana, to build the intellectual and social capacities of young Ghanaians, because he believes that everyone who goes to college now will be running the country one day- be it in the political space, public administration or private enterprise.

While more needs to be done to stem the tide of mutually assured destruction sweeping across the continent, the commendable efforts and sacrifices of these notable Africans and others, is a glimmer of hope for Africa’s renaissance.

Adeyemo is a visiting faculty at the School of Media and Communication of the Pan Atlantic University (PAU) in Lagos

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Guinness has in the past few years confronted with dwindling performance. For its financial year ended June 30, 2014, Guinness said it recorded a 19 per cent drop in its profit after tax (PAT).

The company’s audited result for the period, which it filed with the Nigerian Stock Exchange, showed that its PAT fell from N11.864 billion to N9.573 billion.

The company also said its profit before tax declined by 31 per cent to N11.682 billion from N17.009 billion the previous year, while its revenue estimated at N109.202 billion was 11 per cent lower than the N122.464 billion it posted a year earlier.

Commenting then, on the scenario, Adetu had attributed the decline in revenue and profit to what he called “pricing disadvantage, growth in the value segment where the company is a relatively small player, competitor’s aggressive trade practices and increased finance costs.”

After two and a half years, Adetu will be stepping down as Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the company at the next board meeting in November.

Surprisingly, while Guinness has announced his removal and successor, it has not been able to announce a new posting for him, “Seni is to report to Nick Blazquez, President, Diageo Africa and Asia, starting from January 2015.

The details of Seni’s next role will be subject to a further announcement”, the company said in a statement.

O’Keeffe has been in Diageo for over 20 years, and has had a very strong career.

He started his career as a graduate trainee for Guinness Ireland, holding many marketing roles in Ireland before moving to Jamaica as Marketing Director.

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Our correspondent gathered at the weekend that fresh trouble is knocking on the doors of Guinness Nigeria Plc over the recent front page advert placed in some newspapers.

The advert, Guinness Colourful World of More, our correspondent learnt did not pass through the Advertising Standards Panel, ASP, the vetting arm of APCON.

Tunde Thani, ASP Advertising Best Practice Committee Chairman, who stated this while responding to questions from journalists at a press briefing to herald the forthcoming ASP Advertising Best Practice Awards /Advertising Day celebration, said “There is no way ASP could seat and allow any advertiser to plan such campaign that runs contrary to the advertising code.

He also wondered why any newspaper should expose such an advert to the public no matter the amount, without minding what it connotes to the public, particularly the under aged.”

He noted that APCON has a body, Advert Managers Forum, of which all advert managers belong, saying, “They are part of the vetting process for adverts. There is no information you cannot get from them. We are not hiding anything from public consumption. I can assure you that there is nothing like that (vetting).”

While blaming some advert managers and journalists, he said: “From your end as well, you take finance above ethics. We have the rules, but, unfortunately, some companies are not playing by the rule. From next year, you will begin to see the trail of stamping out of such practices.

“Presently, we are beginning to get calls from the public on why Guinness should expose such an advert in front pages of newspapers to the detriment of children, who are privy to newspaper copies”, he said.

It will be recalled that to check these flagrant violations, APCON had in February this year banned all alcohol advertising from the stable of Guinness Nigeria Plc over what it termed deliberate breach of the code’s Article 39.

The code states that “advertisements for alcohol beverages shall not be aired between 6.00am and 8.00pm on radio and between 6.00am and 10.00pm on television.”

The Article 34 for outdoor advertising also says that advertisements for alcohol beverages shall not be sited within a radius of 200 meters from nearest perimeter fence of any place of worship, hospital, school, or motor parks.

Over the years, players in the segment of this market category have continually breached this provision as a result of what some termed APCON’s ineptitude and/or lack of effective monitoring.

The effect of this flagrant disregard to ethical practice, expectedly, has been impacting negatively on the nation’s youthful section of the consumer market.

In February this year also, precisely during the African Nation’s Cup in South Africa, APCON decided to wield the big stick for the first time by banning all alcohol advertisements of Guinness Nigeria from television (both terrestrial and satellite).

Although the suspension was not announced, Nkechi May-Nzeribe, APCON’s Corporate Affair officer, had in a statement announced the regulator’s decision to pardon the offender, when he simply said, “The APCON through its Advertising Standards Panel (ASP) committee lifted the ban placed on advertising of alcohol beverage placed on Guinness Nigeria Plc.”

The ban, she explained, was lifted because Guinness complied by withdrawing all the offending advertisements that had been scheduled to run, and apologised over its broadcast of Guinness Foreign Extra Stout adverts on Digital Satellite Television (DSTV) outside the prescribed periods allowed by the APCON Code and promotion guidelines.

Specifically, May-Nzeribe said Guinness ‘Made of More’ was aired on DSTV platform on February 2, 2013 at 16.40 hour West African time (4.40pm) during the CAF Nations Cup match between Ghana and Cape Verde, and during English Premier League live matches even after warnings and notifications from the regulatory body.

According to APCON, the ASP’s decision to lift the ban on Guinness’ alcohol advertisement followed a letter written by the Marketing & Innovation Director of Guinness Nigeria, Austin Ufomba. Ufomba, which assured that in future, the brand would not be involved in any breach of the APCON code of advertising practice, and announced a withdrawal of all its advertisement expected to run at that time.

In deciding to lift the ban on Guinness advertising of alcohol beverages, May-Nzeribe said, “APCON has reiterated its position that nobody or company is above the law and would mete out sanctions to any erring organisation no matter how big or influential.”

From all indications, Guinness may be violating Article 39 and 34 of the Code of Advertising Practice again.

Industry sources say top alcohol brands have formed the habit of abusing this advertising provision, which seeks to protect children, women and underage segments of the the audience.

Besides frequent abuse of advertisement on radio and television, outdoor advertisement for alcoholic beverages is one of the most unchecked. In certain areas of Lagos metropolis, such as Pen Cinema, in the Agege area, a billboard bearing Guinness “Made for More” overlooks a motor park.

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