Guinness Nigeria is strengthening its focus on category expansion and portfolio performance by appointing Olusegun Akinyemiju to lead its white spirits business, a move that signals renewed commercial attention to one of the company’s fastest evolving segments.

As he steps into the leadership position of Head of White Spirits MSS Category, the marketing and portfolio development professional expressed appreciation for the opportunity to guide the division at a time when consumer preferences and competition continue to reshape the spirits market.

He noted that he looks forward to working closely with commercial teams, distributors, and consumer insight specialists to deepen market penetration and build stronger brand connections across the category.

With this elevation, the category strategist takes on responsibility for driving growth across the company’s white spirits portfolio while simultaneously overseeing innovation planning, brand positioning, and profitability management.

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In addition, the portfolio leader will coordinate cross functional execution across marketing, sales, and supply chain teams to ensure that product development, pricing strategy, and distribution expansion remain aligned with changing consumer expectations.

This broader mandate reflects Guinness Nigeria’s intention to strengthen its spirits portfolio through disciplined execution and insight driven decision making.

The new role builds on more than a decade of experience across brand management, commercial strategy, and consumer engagement within the beverage and lifestyle sectors.

Before joining Guinness Nigeria, the brand development professional served as Senior Brand Manager for the gin and liqueur category at Nigeria Distilleries Limited, where he directed portfolio strategy from concept to market execution.

During that period, he improved pricing frameworks, refined brand communication, and introduced product extensions that supported sustained revenue growth despite a challenging operating environment.

At the same time, his focus on consumer research and category intelligence enabled the company to respond quickly to shifting market trends.

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Earlier in his career, the commercial growth manager handled LORD’S Dry Gin as Senior Brand Manager Commercial Growth, where he led a comprehensive brand refresh that strengthened visibility and increased consumer loyalty.

He introduced packaging improvements, coordinated anti counterfeiting initiatives, and executed targeted campaigns that translated into measurable gains in sales performance.

Furthermore, he supervised one of the largest spirits sampling activations in Nigeria and expanded distributor engagement to improve route to market efficiency.

These efforts collectively strengthened brand equity while opening new revenue opportunities, including the introduction of a ready to drink variant tailored to emerging consumption occasions.

Beyond the beverage sector, the marketing professional also served as Head of Marketing West Africa at i Fitness Centre Limited, where he designed integrated growth campaigns, secured corporate partnerships, and built performance driven teams equipped with modern marketing technology tools. Consequently, the organization expanded its customer base while improving brand visibility across key urban markets.

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The strategist’s foundation in integrated marketing communications took shape during earlier agency roles, including Business Director at DeQube Agency, Senior Brand Manager at Noah’s Ark Communications, and Senior Manager Consumer Engagement at Rock Thompson Nigeria.

Across these roles, he delivered campaigns for telecommunications, FMCG, and beverage clients, combining creative execution with measurable commercial outcomes.

Those experiences strengthened his expertise in brand storytelling, experiential marketing, and consumer insight translation into business value.

As Guinness Nigeria continues to refine its spirits portfolio strategy, the appointment signals a deliberate effort to strengthen leadership within a category that remains central to future growth.

With consumer tastes evolving and competition intensifying, the company is positioning its white spirits business to respond with innovation, disciplined portfolio management, and stronger market engagement.

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