Jobs/Appointments
Coca-Cola Makes Senior Leadership Appointments
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The Coca-Cola Company today announced a number of senior leadership appointments to drive its ongoing transformation into a growth-oriented, consumer-centred, total beverage company.
Key changes, which will be effective when President and COO James Quincey becomes Chief Executive Officer on May 1, include: Combining Global Marketing, Customer and Commercial Leadership, and Strategy into one combined function under the leadership of a new Chief Growth Officer to drive growth across five strategic beverage categories.
Appointing a Chief Innovation Officer to elevate Global Research & Development into a standalone innovation function reporting directly to the CEO. This represents the increased importance of innovation to the company’s growth plans.
Positioning the Information Technology function as a direct report to the CEO given the importance of digitization as a growth enabler for the company’s business.
Combining key global transactional and expertise services into an expanded and reconstituted Integrated Services organization that will primarily focus on financial, procurement and associate shared services.
“Today’s organizational announcement is another building block in our company’s transformational journey,” Quincey said. “We are moving quickly to structure our organization for faster growth and to ensure we can respond to the fast-changing needs of our consumers, customers, system and associates around the world. Each of the leaders named today is highly capable and understands our clear mandate for change, and I look forward to partnering with them as we transform our business for the future.”
The changes support work already under way to create a leaner, more agile corporate organization that is focused on strategy, governance and vital strategic initiatives, such as innovation and portfolio growth through leading brands and categories. They also follow changes made by Quincey to the company’s international operations leadership team last year.
Leaders assuming new or expanded responsibility in the organization and reporting directly to Quincey, effective May 1, include: Francisco Crespo, who currently serves as President of the Mexico business unit, will fill the newly created role of Chief Growth Officer. A 28-year company veteran, Crespo will lead the company’s global marketing, corporate strategy, and customer and commercial leadership teams to create a consolidated team with a clear mandate for driving global growth. This role will lead the evolving category cluster model focused around five beverage categories: sparkling, juice/dairy/plant-based, tea and coffee, water and enhanced waters and energy. Julie Hamilton, Chief Customer and Commercial Leadership Officer, and the Corporate Strategy and Planning and Global Marketing leadership teams will report to the Chief Growth Officer.
Crespo is uniquely qualified for this role, having successfully led the expansion of Coca-Cola’s total beverage portfolio in each of the key Latin America markets where he has worked. Since 2013, he has overseen the continued expansion of products and brands in Mexico, which is one of the company’s most important international business units.
Robert Long, currently Vice President, Research and Development, will become a direct report to the CEO as Chief Innovation Officer. This move is indicative of Coca-Cola’s increased focus on accelerating the growth of its consumer-centric brand portfolio with hundreds of new products and continued innovation in beverages, packaging, ingredients and other areas of the business around the world.
Barry Simpson, currently Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer, will remain in his role but be elevated as a direct report to the CEO to increase visibility and focus on efforts to digitize all aspects of the company’s business. Barry became CIO last fall and oversees all of the company’s global information technology strategy, services and operations.
Kathy Waller, currently Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, will assume expanded responsibility for the company’s strategic governance areas as Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and President, Enabling Services. In addition to the Global Finance organization, the Global Technical team led by Dr. Ed Hays, a newly created Integrated Services team, which will be led by Robin Moore, and a new Business Transformation team to be led by Mark Eppert will report to Waller. The Integrated Services team will focus on financial, procurement and associate shared services while the Business Transformation team will be responsible for driving the changes needed to implement the company’s new operating model, including productivity and zero-based work.
Moore, currently Chief of Internal Audit, joined the company in 1995 and has held numerous roles of increasing responsibility within the Finance organization. She led the establishment of the company’s global finance shared service capability within the company’s Global Business Services (GBS) organization. She will replace Ann Taylor, currently President of GBS, who will retire from the company after a successful 32-year career. Taylor’s leadership in the formation and growth of the GBS organization since 2009 has been instrumental in creating the foundation to expand shared services capabilities through a new Integrated Services organization.
Eppert, who currently serves as Chief Financial and Supply Chain Officer for Coca-Cola North America, will join Waller’s team to lead Global Business Transformation. With nearly 25 years of Coca-Cola experience, Eppert is uniquely qualified for his new role having held key leadership positions in Coca-Cola Refreshments and in the North America business unit, including Foodservice and On-Premise, the Sparkling Category business unit and the Columbus, Ohio Syrup Branch. Brent Hastie, currently Senior Vice President, Corporate Strategy and Planning, will succeed Eppert as Chief Financial and Supply Chain Officer for Coca-Cola North America. Hastie joined the company in 2006 and has held numerous finance, strategy, commercial and brand leadership roles in Corporate, Coca-Cola Refreshments and the North America Group. He will report to Sandy Douglas, Executive Vice President and President, Coca-Cola North America.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The conclusion of the 2025 Performance Appraisal Exercise of Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) has resulted in the promotion and step increments of about 1,126 employees of the organisation.
The reward for performance involved the promotion of 547 employees and 579 step increments, reaffirming the company’s unwavering commitment to recognising excellence, rewarding performance and building one of Africa’s most admired workplaces.
AEDC disclosed that these actions reflect its deliberate investment in its people as the energy firm accelerates its transformation into a customer-centric, high-performing electricity distribution company with global standards and Pan-African aspirations.
The promotions and step increments, approved by the management, recognise employees who have demonstrated exceptional commitment, professionalism and outstanding performance in advancing AEDC’s strategic objectives.
However, employees who were not successful in the current appraisal cycle have been urged to remain committed, emphasising that the performance management process is designed to support continuous growth, capability development and future advancement opportunities.
“Our people remain our greatest asset and the foundation upon which AEDC’s future will be built. Today’s announcement is more than a reward for performance; it is a reaffirmation of our belief that excellence should always be recognised, talent should be nurtured and hard work should create opportunities for growth.
“As we continue our transformation journey, we are building an organisation where our employees can develop rewarding careers, realise their full potential and proudly contribute to creating one of Africa’s leading electricity distribution companies,” the chief executive of AEDC, Mr Chijioke Okwuokenye, stated.
He added that AEDC is intentionally creating a workplace where merit, continuous learning, innovation and collaboration drive career progression, while employee wellbeing remains central to its long-term strategy.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigerian international lawyer and anti-corruption specialist, Mr Ibrahim James Pam, has been appointed Acting Director-General of the World Bank Group’s Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO), a key independent accountability body within the institution.
The appointment, approved by the boards of the World Bank Group, will take effect on August 2, 2026.
Mr Pam, who currently serves as Chair of the World Bank Inspection Panel, will oversee the CAO on an interim basis pending the appointment of a substantive Director-General and Vice President of the World Bank Group Independent Accountability Mechanism.
The development was announced in a statement issued by the Head of Communications of the Compliance Advisor Ombudsman, Emily Horgan, who said the arrangement was designed to ensure continuity during the organisation’s leadership transition.
“In view of the forthcoming leadership transition at the Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO), the World Bank Group Boards have designated Ibrahim Pam, Chair of the Inspection Panel, to concurrently serve as acting CAO Director General, effective August 2, 2026,” the statement said.
“Mr Pam will serve in this role until the new World Bank Group Independent Accountability Mechanism Director General/Vice President is appointed.”
The Compliance Advisor Ombudsman is the independent accountability mechanism for projects financed by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), both members of the World Bank Group.
Created in 1999, the CAO reports directly to the boards of IFC and MIGA and handles complaints from individuals and communities affected by projects supported by the two institutions, while promoting environmental and social accountability.
Mr Pam, who is married with children and grandchildren, brings extensive experience in international law, anti-corruption, compliance, human rights and criminal investigations to the role.
He is the son of the late Lt. Col. James Pam, a former Adjutant General of the Nigerian Army, and Mrs Ngo Elizabeth Pam, a human rights advocate who served on the Human Rights Violations Investigation Commission, popularly known as the Oputa Panel, as well as the Plateau Peace Conference.
Over the years, Mr Pam has built a distinguished international career investigating human rights violations, financial crimes, fraud, institutional misconduct and mass atrocities across several jurisdictions.
He has served as a member of the World Bank Inspection Panel since January 2023. Prior to that, he was Head ad interim of the Independent Redress Mechanism of the Green Climate Fund in Songdo, South Korea, between August 2022 and March 2023, after leading the Fund’s Independent Integrity Unit from November 2016 to November 2022.
His professional experience also includes roles with the United Nations Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS), where he served as Resident Investigator with the UN Mission in South Sudan, the African Development Bank’s Integrity and Anti-Corruption Department, and the Office of the Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
Earlier in his career, he provided legal support to Nigeria’s Human Rights Violations Investigation Commission (Oputa Panel) between 2000 and 2002.
A graduate of the University of Jos, Mr Pam began his legal career at J.Y. Pam & Co. before working in private legal practice, the banking sector and later the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
While at the ICPC, he received the prestigious Chevening Scholarship, which enabled him to earn a Master’s degree in International Law and Justice Policy from the London School of Economics in 2005
His appointment is expected to strengthen the World Bank Group’s accountability and oversight framework, given his extensive background in governance, integrity, compliance and international justice.
Jobs/Appointments
UNIZIK Appoints Nicholas Okoye Visiting Senior Lecturer, to Strengthen Digital Assets Education
Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UNIZIK) has appointed veteran investment banker and capital markets expert, Nicholas “Nicky” Okoye, as a Visiting Senior Lecturer in a move aimed at strengthening its capital markets and digital assets curriculum amid the growing global adoption of virtual assets and blockchain-based finance.
The appointment, which takes immediate effect, is expected to deepen the university’s capacity to train enterprise executives, entrepreneurs and policymakers in emerging areas such as cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs), tokenisation of real-world assets and other digital financial innovations.
UNIZIK, which hosts one of Africa’s few dedicated Capital Markets faculties, said the appointment aligns with its strategy of equipping students and professionals with the knowledge and practical skills required to navigate the rapidly evolving financial ecosystem.
The university, in its statement, described the appointment as a significant milestone for the institution.
“Securing someone of Nicky Okoye’s calibre is a game-changer. As global finance evolves, we must equip enterprise executives, entrepreneurs and policymakers with the technical knowledge required to build long-term capital formation strategies. His real-world experience is invaluable.”
Okoye brings decades of experience across global and Nigerian financial institutions. His career includes serving as a Financial Consultant at Merrill Lynch in the United States, Chief Strategy Officer at the Nigerian Exchange Group, and Founding Group Executive Director of Operations and Strategy at Transcorp Group Plc, where he led fundraising initiatives that collectively exceeded $1 billion.
He currently leads the Global Investment Advisory Community (GIAC), a coalition of local and international banks, asset managers and fintech firms working to develop a digital assets ecosystem across Africa and the Caribbean.
Beyond the private sector, Okoye has contributed to public policy, providing advisory support to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on capital market regulatory frameworks.
Stakeholders in the financial services sector have welcomed the appointment, expressing optimism that his academic engagement would help build capacity among investors and professionals as Nigeria expands its digital finance ecosystem.
Okoye also holds an honorary Doctor of Business Administration from Enugu State University of Technology, awarded in recognition of his contributions to enterprise development and business excellence.
He previously served on the Presidential Jobs Board and the National Council of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises, where he provided strategic advice on economic development. Between 2014 and 2018, he advised the Nigeria Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) on Project Triple E, an initiative designed to strengthen indigenous participation in the upstream oil and gas value chain by integrating community-based contractors.
The appointment comes as Nigeria intensifies efforts to establish a robust regulatory framework for digital assets. The Federal Government recently inaugurated a National Virtual Assets Council to coordinate the oversight and regulation of virtual and digital assets in the country.
The council is chaired by the Central Bank of Nigeria, with support from the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Nigeria Revenue Service, as part of broader efforts to promote innovation while ensuring investor protection and financial system stability.
