‎Girish Sharma is the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Guinness Nigeria Plc, a role he assumed in October 2024. Since stepping into this leadership position, Girish has spearheaded a bold transformation agenda that has stabilised business fundamentals, rejuvenated commercial execution, and reignited growth in one of Africa’s most dynamic ‎consumer markets. Under his stewardship,

Guinness Nigeria has not only recovered financial momentum but has also reasserted its place as a leading force in the Nigerian FMCG industry, a testament to its strategic clarity and operational discipline.
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‎Mr. Sharma will be speaking on the theme, “AI INTEGRATION: LEVERAGING NEW TECHNOLOGIES TO ACHIEVE BUSINESS OBJECTIVES”. The other sub-theme is “NEW CREATOR VALUE: A RE-ASSESSMENT OF TRADITIONAL CREATIVE INDUSTRY.”
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‎With over 20 years of progressive leadership experience across the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) landscape, Girish brings a unique blend of commercial acumen,‎entrepreneurial energy, and cultural fluency to the businesses he leads. He is widely respected for building high-performance organisations and scaling iconic brands across ‎diverse geographies (particularly in complex, high-growth emerging markets).

‎Prior to joining Guinness Nigeria, Girish served as the Chief Executive Officer of the Colgate-Palmolive Tolaram joint venture in West Africa, where he achieved a remarkable 70% compound annual growth rate in top-line revenue over five years. During this time, he built a scalable, agile business model that blended global best practices with deep local insights, earning him recognition as a transformative leader in the personal care space.
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‎Prior to that, he played a foundational role in the meteoric rise of Indomie (Tolaram Group’s flagship brand), helping to entrench it as the number one instant noodle brand in both Nigeria and Ghana. His efforts in route-to-market optimisation and consumer brand-building have influenced entire product categories and reshaped consumer behaviour in West Africa.

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‎Girish holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration (Marketing) from Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University in India and an MBA in Marketing from the University of Kent, ‎UK. He has further enhanced his leadership capabilities through executive education at some of the world’s most prestigious institutions, including Harvard Business School, Stanford Graduate School of Business, and the University of Cambridge, with a focus on corporate strategy, purpose-led leadership, and sustainable business practices.

‎Beyond the boardroom, Girish is an advocate for inclusive leadership and a firm believer in the power of mentorship and human capital development. He is actively involved in coaching the next generation of African business leaders and contributes thought
‎leadership on topics such as innovation, ethical leadership, and business resilience.
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‎Known for his intellectual curiosity and strategic foresight, he combines rigorous thinking with a human-centred approach to leadership.
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‎Outside his professional life, Girish is an avid reader, global traveller, and angel investor with active interests in consumer tech, fintech, and scalable impact ventures. He is also passionate about the arts, culinary cultures, and initiatives that foster cross-cultural exchange and global citizenship.
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‎As a leader who consistently balances performance with purpose, Girish Sharma exemplifies the kind of values-driven, globally minded individual who would contribute ‎meaningfully to any club or society that values integrity, leadership, and community.

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