Susan Mboya

Susan Mboya official portrait August 2016

Susan Mboya is a corporate executive and philanthropist who is the President of the Coca-Cola Africa Foundation and the Group Director of the Eurasia Africa Group (EAG) for women’s economic empowerment at Coca-Cola. Susan is also the First Lady of Nairobi County , married to the Governor of Nairobi, Dr. Evans Kidero.^[1][2][3] Susan is the Founder of the , Zawadi Africa Educational Fund a 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization that provides scholarships and leadership development training to academically gifted, marginalized African girls to enable them to attend top colleges and universities around the world with the objective of creating a pipeline of African female leaders: the Zawadi Africa program is based on the Africa Airlift s program launched by her father and John F. Kennedy. Her father, Tom Mboya, a Kenyan nationalist leader, was a well-known Kenyan trade unionist, educationist, Pan Africanist, author, independence activist, Cabinet Minister and one of the founding fathers of the Republic of Kenya.

Education and Personal Life

Susan Mboya obtained a B.Sc. in Pharmacy from the University of Connecticut in 1988. She then went on to obtain a Master of Science (MSc, 1991) and a Doctorate (PhD, 1995) in Industrial Pharmacy both at the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy ^[4]

Mboya is married to Governor Evans Kidero , Governor of Nairobi County , Kenya. She is the third born child of Tom and Pamela Mboya. Her father, Tom Mboya , a Kenyan nationalist leader, was a well-known Kenyan trade unionist, educationist, Pan Africanist, author, independence activist, Cabinet Minister and one of the founding fathers of the Republic of Kenya. Tom Mboya who negotiated with the British to help secure Kenyas independence in 1963, served as Justice Minister in Kenya post independence. He was assassinated in 1969 when Susan was still an infant. Her mother Pamela Odede Mboya was one of Kenya's top diplomats serving as Kenyans Permanent representative to UN Habitat for over 20 years.

Career

Susan joined Procter and Gamble as a Brand Manager on Always sanitary pads brand in Kenya in 1995. In 1998, she led P&G’s Marketing efforts for P&Gs Target Team based at Target Corporation ’s global headquarters in Minneapolis, Minnesota. In 2000, Mboya moved to P&G headquarters in Cincinnati, as the Brand Manager on the Puffs (facial tissue) brand where she was credited with returning the brand to a sustained growth trend following five years of decline.

Susan joined The Coca-Cola Company in September 2008, following a 14-year career in General Management at [[Procter and Gamble]] in Cincinnati, Ohio. Immediately prior to joining Coca-Cola , she was the Global Director for Oral B Brushing at Procter & Gamble in Cincinnati, a global business across 40 countries. Prior to her assignment on Oral B , Susan was the Associate Marketing Director for Pampers Global Baby Wipes.

From 2008 to 2011, Susan was the General Manager, Coca-Cola South Africa, a Top 10 market for Coca-Cola, with over $800 million in revenues driven by a system of 4 independent Bottling Franchises. In 2010,she was part of a team that successfully executed the FIFA Trophy Tour and 2010 FIFA World Cup promotions in South Africa.

Dr. Mboya is currently the Group Director, Eurasia, Africa Group (EAG) for Women’s Economic Empowerment at Coca-Cola, and the President of the Coca-Cola Africa Foundation. She leads the Groups deployment of the "5 BY 20” initiative, a global Commitment by Coca-Cola to economically empower 5 million women by the year 2020. In July 2013, Susan was appointed as the President of the Coca-Cola Africa Foundation (TCCAF), responsible for administering millions of dollars in grants to Coca-Cola sponsored initiatives in Africa. Susan leads the development of strategic plans and deployment of the 5by20 and Coca-Cola Africa Foundation initiatives in the 90+ countries that make up the Eurasia Africa Group. Susan has forged public private partnerships to help resource, fund and provide technical expertise for the initiatives, raising over $120 million in funding towards the 5by20 initiative to date and working with international partners including USAID , DFID , TechnoServe , MercyCorps and the IFC . In EAG, 5by20 has empowered over 500,000 women as of end 2015. ^[5]

Zawadi Africa

Mboya is the Founder and President of the Zawadi Africa Educational Fund a non-profit organization modeled on her father’s famed student airlifts of the 60s which took over 800 East African students to American universities and colleges.^[6] Zawadi Africa provides high-achieving young African women from disadvantaged backgrounds with scholarships at over 65 top universities in the US, Canada, Africa and Europe. To date, Zawadi has disbursed over 350 scholarships, valued at over $65 million to students at over 60 Colleges and Universities. In addition to securing scholarships, Zawadi Africa also provides leadership development and life skills training. Zawadi beneficiaries are truly exceptional young women, securing admission in some of the top Universities in the world including Harvard, Oxford University , MIT , Yale and Duke University . Zawadi beneficiaries are returning home and going on to stellar careers in top companies like IBM , L'Oréal , Commercial Bank of Africa , Bridge International, AMREF and Uber . Importantly, Zawadi beneficiaries are giving back to their communities through programs of their own, including PACE, Masomo Mashinani and Beyond the Classroom, programs that work to improve educational outcomes and school retention for disadvantaged children. One Zawadi beneficiary has even launched her own pre-school in her home town of Nakuru in Kenya. These programs have a multiplier effect and through them, Zawadi has reached over 15,000 indirect beneficiaries embodying the Zawadi motto "Each one Teach One".

Achievements and Awards

In 2003, Mboya became the first African to be inducted into the American Advertising Federation (AAF) Hall of Achievement. Also in 2003 Mboya was awarded the Jack Averett Community Spirit Award by the AAF, and named Ebony Magazine ’s Marketer of the Year in 2004. In June 2009, Mboya was awarded a Honorary Doctorate in Humanities by Lakeland College ^[7] > recognition of her humanitarian activities with the Zawadi Africa Education Fund. In December 2010, Mboya was awarded the Elder of the Burning Spear (EBS), by the President of Kenya, in recognition of her dedication and service to the development of the country’s youth. In 2013 Dr Mboya was recognised as an Internationalist of the Year, recognition that goes to 30 top marketers around the globe. In June 2016 Dr Mboya was awarded an honorary Doctorate degree in Humanities by the University of Massachusetts Boston in recognition of her work in empowering women and girls.

Affiliations

Mboya currently serves as the Chairman of the Board of Liberty Holdings Limited, a subsidiary of Liberty Insurance Group in South Africa, and is a member of the Board of Trustees for the Coca-Cola Africa Foundation. Dr Mboya also serves as a member of Coca-Cola's Global Women's Leadership Council. She is also a member of African Leadership Network .

Dr Mboya has appeared in numerous public speaking engagements including World Economic Forum Africa, United Nations , Clinton Global Initiative , African Philanthropy Forum , and World Water Week in Stockholm to name a few. Dr Mboya speaks publicly on matters related to Water, Women's Empowerment, Youth Empowerment, Health Systems Strengthening and Education.

References