Mondelēz International appoints Vijay Ameta as MD for Central and East Africa

KENYA – Mondelēz International has appointed Vijay Ameta as Managing Director for Central and East Africa, strengthening the snacking company’s regional leadership as it accelerates commercial growth and expands its presence across key African markets.

The appointment adds an experienced consumer-goods executive with extensive knowledge of African markets to Mondelēz International’s Sub-Saharan Africa leadership team.

Ameta will drive the company’s commercial strategy across Central and East Africa, with priorities including growth, innovation, route-to-market development, and strengthening Mondelēz’s position in the snacking category.

His appointment comes as consumer-goods companies operating across Africa increasingly focus on developing distribution networks, adapting products to local consumer needs and building resilient commercial models in markets facing currency, inflation and supply-chain pressures.

Ameta brings significant experience from across the fast-moving consumer goods sector. Before joining Mondelēz, he served as Business Head for Dabur’s Nepal, Myanmar and Thailand operations.

He previously spent almost a decade at Colgate-Palmolive, where he began his African career in 2015 with the company’s Nigeria start-up operation.

In 2017, he became General Manager of the Nigeria and Ghana cluster, where he managed the business during a period of currency devaluation and import restrictions.

His Colgate-Palmolive career also included involvement in the Nigerian subsidiary’s transition into a joint venture with Tolaram Nigeria in 2019.

In 2020, Ameta took responsibility for the company’s East Africa cluster as General Manager, giving him direct experience of the region he will now oversee for Mondelēz.

His expertise covers brand strategy, distributor management, route-to-market development and capability building.

Ameta began his career with Colgate-Palmolive in India in 2008 and has also held positions at PepsiCo and Nokia.

He holds an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management Lucknow and a degree in Computer Engineering from Mumbai University.

He has also been recognised with Colgate’s Global YCMAD Awards for innovation in manufacturing and demand generation.

Mondelēz President for Sub-Saharan Africa Hisham Ezz El-Arab said Ameta’s experience navigating complex African markets and developing high-performing teams would support the company’s expansion agenda.

Mondelēz operates in more than 70 markets across its broader Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa region, with major brands including Oreo, Cadbury Dairy Milk, Ritz, LU and Toblerone.

The appointment positions Ameta to play a key role in strengthening Mondelēz’s presence across Central and East Africa while driving growth through innovation, stronger distribution, and deeper consumer engagement.

Recently, Mondelēz Intern appointed Russell Coleman as Senior Director, People Lead for Sub-Saharan Africa.

Additionally, Varun Beverages Zimbabwe signed an agreement with Mondelez International, adding some of the world’s most loved brands to our portfolio: Cadbury chocolates and chocolate drinks, Oreo biscuits, and Halls, candies and gums.

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