Coca-Cola Nigeria Limited has announced the appointment of Kelvin Balogun as the company’s new chief executive officer, effective February 1, 2011. Mr. Balogun succeeds Islay Rhind, who will be retiring from The Coca-Cola Company.

Mr. Balogun, who becomes the first Nigerian CEO of Coca-Cola Nigeria, joined the company in October 1999 as strategic planning & business development manager. In February 2002, he moved to East Africa, where he held positions of increasing responsibility in Kenya, Tanzania, and the Horn of Africa before assuming the role of strategy director for the Coca-Cola East & Central Africa Business Unit in May 2008, with responsibility for strategy development across 27 countries.

Mr. Balogun’s last role in East Africa was that of general manager for the East Africa & Mozambique Franchise, leading Coca-Cola’s operations and market development in Ethiopia, Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya, and Mozambique.

Curt Ferguson, president of Coca-Cola North & West Africa Business Unit, had this to say - “Kelvin is well grounded in the business and has a strong track record of performance. He successfully rebuilt some of the key business drivers for profitable growth in several East and Central African markets. We are confident that he will accelerate the growth momentum that our business has built in Nigeria and will lay a solid framework for sustainable market leadership.”

He began his career in 1989 as a business analyst at Accenture in Lagos, and rose to the position of senior manager & head of strategy competency. He has an MBA from the Goizueta School of Business at Emory University in Atlanta and a Bachelors degree in Metallurgical & Materials Engineering from Obafemi Awolowo University in Ile-Ife. He is also an alumnus of the Lagos Business School and the Logistics Strategy School at the Cranfield University in the UK.

“I am excited by the opportunity to return home and help shape and drive the Coca-Cola business here,” said Mr. Balogun.

“Nigeria is a strategic growth market; my colleagues and I will focus on strengthening the fundamentals of the business, deepening the bonds between our brands and our consumers, and expanding our market leadership,” he further said.