THERE IS NO RIGHT WAY OF DOING THE WRONG THING!!

I must say that it was such an awesome moment that we shared with the Diageo Global CEO Ivan Menezes. Diageo  is a British multinational alcoholic beverages company headquartered in London, England. It is the world's largest producer of spirits and a major producer of beer and wine. Diageo is a global company, whose products are sold in more than 180 countries around the world. This company is listed on both the London Stock Exchange (DGE) and the New York Stock Exchange (DEO).
Its no doubt that Ivan has a great sense of humor with a highly welcoming face that easily makes you forget that he is the Top employee of the Diageo. Commonly known for his phrase "There is no right way of doing the wrong thing" the global CEO could not hold it back while meeting his Ugandan team at Uganda Breweries Limited (UBL). In company of Ubl's GM Nyimpini Mabunda and Charles Ireland the Group Director of East African Breweries (eabl) Ivan fully expressed his business thoughts about the future of Diageo in Uganda and Africa at large.

Fully acquainted with the most necessary statistics every business person needs to know while in a new region, Ivan fully highlighted these while addressing his Ugandan Staff at Uganda Breweries Located at the shores of Lake Victoria. The CEO said he had no doubt that in the next 10 years , Africa will be the Leading Strategic Market for Diageo, with her ever growing population of the youth and growing markets ,Africa is definitely the next big thing.

In his weekly blog shortly after his magnificent address to the Ugandan Team, Here is what he wrote about his Visit to Uganda.

" From Singapore, I went to Kampala. I have long wanted to visit this beautiful country. Population 35M and growing 3% p.a. with 700,000 Ugandans turning LDA every year. GDP growth is around 6% a year. Our business, Uganda Breweries Ltd (UBL) employs 300 people with an NSV of about 85m GBP. We have a strong TBA position with 50% value share in beer and 55% value share in spirits.

Along with Charles Ireland, I spent an invigorating couple of days in Kampala with Nyimpini Mabunda (GM Uganda) and his passionate, energetic and warmly hospitable team at UBL. This team is determined to create the best performing, most trusted and respected business in the country. The Exec Team shared with me their priorities to deliver the Performance Ambition.

Our brewery is located on the shores of Lake Victoria and I am proud that the water we return to the Lake is cleaner than the water we take out. I was honored to break ground on the expansion of our water treatment facility. I loved the high energy town hall meeting with all employees on Saturday - the Q&A could have gone on for many more hours! I spent several hours in trade in Kampala over two evenings visiting the spectrum of outlets -- from home brew to local spirits to value/mainstream beer to trend leading Reserve bars and clubs. So much opportunity!!! Ademola Adeoye, Allen Ssebugwawo and their terrific teams are transforming our RtC. Let's be bold, fast and surprise the competition.

At a cocktail party at the British High Commission, I met CEOs and government leaders. I shared with them why I believe we will create the "most trusted and respected" company in Uganda:

1. Our people live the values and are committed to doing business the right way. Pathway to Pride is ingrained.

2. Alcohol in Society: strong commitment to working with Government and civil society -- underage drinking and drink driving are key areas of focus.

3. Local Sourcing is making a step change: 70% of our cereal is now locally sourced with 17,000 small holder farmers meeting our needs. This "grain to bottle" value chain has sustainable benefits for all.

4. Water of Life has a huge impact: In Uganda alone, last year we brought clean water to 1M people!! UBL is truly leading the way in Africa. I announced an initiative where we will fund Water Aid for another major multiyear project.

5. Good Employer: we are among the best employers in the country but we want to be #1. Happy that 4 out of 9 on the Exec are women. Amazing Line Manager training will make a big difference to make us Best Place to Work.

6. Finally we are a top 5 contributor to the Government Exchequer - a material economic contributor to the nation.
My conclusion from the visit: Just as Uganda is the Pearl of Africa, I see Uganda Breweries becoming the Pearl of Diageo. Let's celebrate and appreciate our 300 colleagues who are creating this pearl. " - Ivan Menezes -Diageo Global CEO