Drinks giant Diageo, whose brands include Gordon’s, Baileys, Guinness and Smirnoff, has appointed Ednah Otieno as its new human resources director for Great Britain.
Otieno starts on 1 July, with a remit to lead all aspects of people change within the business, including ensuring staff feel supported and promoting a company-wide culture that values health and wellbeing.
It is the first time a Kenyan has taken this important position, but Otieno has more than 18 years’ experience in senior HR leadership roles. She has previously been head of reward at Diageo Africa, head of organisational effectiveness and reward at Airtel Africa, and is still currently group human resources director at East African Breweries Limited (EABL).
Commenting on her imminent change of role, EABL’s group managing director Jane Karuku said: “I’m happy and proud to announce that Ednah will be moving to lead the HR role in Diageo in the next three months. Ednah is a consummate professional with an enviable track record, and I’m sure she’s more than equal to the task ahead of her.”
Otieno said: “This historic promotion falls in line with Diageo Group’s diversity and inclusion agenda. At EABL, we celebrate diversity and strive to create an inclusive culture that enables every individual in the organisation to contribute and grow in an environment where everyone is for who they uniquely are. I’m proud that my promotion epitomises this culture.”