Procter and Gamble (P&G) has announced the appointment of Mr. George Nasser as the new company Managing Director for Nigeria. The announcement was made this week by Miss Olatomiwa Akande, the company’s communications Manager.
Mr. Nasser brings with him a wealth of senior management and leadership experience, having served for more than 24 years in the FMCG industry. Prior to his last role as P&G Country Manager for Ukraine, George Nasser held the role of country manager for North Africa & Levant as well as in Saudi & Yemen. He has over seven years experience in marketing and business development in locations including Dubai, Moscow, Egypt and Switzerland.
Remarking on his appointment, Mr. Nassar said, “I am deeply honored by the opportunity to lead P&G’s operations in Nigeria. As a company, we have great assets in our tremendous human talent and our unmatched legacy of innovative brands introduced into to the market following well researched consumer insights. I look forward to working with the leadership team and employees in Nigeria to continue our proud legacy and to lead P&G and our leading brands including Pampers, Ariel, Always, Oral B and so on into the next era.”
Commenting on this appointment, the outgoing GM Manoj Kumar said, “George is a strong leader with a passion for the company and deep understanding of the business. His track record of strategic leadership, combined with his open-minded approach to problem solving has earned him the respect of employees, customers and partners worldwide. He has the right combination of knowledge, depth and experience to lead the company’s operations successfully in Nigeria” Kumar added.
Mr. Manoj Kumar had been at the helm of leadership for the leading consumer goods company since 2009. Mr. Kumar’s tenure also saw the company introduce new brands including Oral-B toothpaste and Safeguard anti-bacterial soap to its Nigerian portfolio in line with the company’s commitment to making everyday life a little better for Nigerians. The company was also recognised with awards including the African First Ladies Awards for excellence in social investments across Africa, the U.S. Secretary of State’s Award for Corporate Excellence (ACE) for 2011, the Conglomerate Employer-of-Choice award in 2011, Best Company in community involvement and development–Involving interventions covering the MDG’s (Child-Focused CSR)’ at the 2011 Social Enterprise Report and Awards ceremony, and the 2009 Tax Compliance Award in recognition of the company’s diligence in the remittance of tax as a corporate citizen in Lagos State.
P&G company communications manager, Tomiwa Akande commented on the leadership change saying, “The new Managing Director, Mr. Nasser assures all the company’s stakeholders of P&G’s continued commitment towards investing in Nigeria to contribute towards driving economic and social infrastructure development as well as job creation in the country. The company is now expanding across other countries in West Africa with Nigeria as production hub for the sub-region. This expansion comes with new investments in Nigeria including a state-of-the-art baby care manufacturing plant under construction in Agbara, Ogun State”.