the right
people in the
right place at
the right time
THE WORLD OF HEINEKEN
One question is enough to trigger him into giving an explanation
lasting half an hour; at first still relaxed, but within a few minutes
he's leaning forward on the edge of his chair. The enthusiasm of
Festus Odimegwu, Managing Director and CEO of Nigerian
Breweries, makes itself felt. He has already told his story about
the seven elements of Nigerian Breweries Strategic Architecture
many times during the past year, each time full of fire and passion.
A story about objectives and the people you need to achieve them.
It covers Nigerian Breweries Pic's vision, mission, objectives,
strategy, structure, systems and leadership/people within the
context of the Heineken Africa Cluster.
His personal objective is clear: keeping the organisation vibrant
and alert. That wake-up function is important for a brewery which,
with a market share of about 80% in the lager sector, has held a
dominant position for many years. "Dominant? You're only dominant
if you hold 98% market share in the lager segment. I'm not joking.
If SAB can do it in South Africa, why can't we in Nigeria?", says
Mr Odimegwu in fighting mood. He wants to build Nigerian Breweries
into a world class company, because the competitors are lying in
wait. The process of democratisation that Nigeria set in motion two
years ago has not only brought prosperity for Nigerian Breweries,
but has also opened up the eyes of its competitors. "Other breweries
are studying the possibilities of entering this market. We must
develop into a world class company so that we can expand our
strong position further."
Nigerian Breweries, in which Heineken has held a majority partici
pation since late 2000, has defined a number of key issues that
need to be addressed if it is to become world class. Festus
Odimegwu lists them one by one: "Firstly, we give priority to mod
ernising the operational infrastructure by upgrading the ICT, by
screening third parties who deal with Nigerian Breweries so that
