Edna Otieno, the Group Human Resources Director at East African Breweries Ltd (EABL), has been appointed the Human Resources Director for Diageo in the Great Britain.

The appointment, which comes into effect on July 1, 2021, now makes Ednah the first Kenyan citizen to be appointed to the prestigious position in London.

“I’m happy and proud to announce that Ednah will be moving to lead the HR role in Diageo in the next three months. Edna is a consummate professional with an enviable track record and I'm sure she's more than equal to the task ahead of her," EABL Group MD Jane Karuku said.

Ednah is recognised for her exceptional performance and inspiration, and is credited for creating a strong succession regime, and for inculcating a continuous self-learning culture.

“Her passion for inclusion and diversity was instrumental in implementing the parental leave policy that led to six-month and one-month maternity and paternity leave, respectively,” said Karuku.

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Edna Otieno. PHOTO/EABL

EABL says she has also been instrumental in leading a culture change in cross-functional collaboration in different levels and ensured a simple, agile and fully resourced firm.

Edna said, “This historic promotion falls in line with our diversity and inclusion agenda that of the Diageo Group. 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 valued for who they uniquely are. I’m proud that my promotion epitomises this culture.”

Edna launched her career as a graduate trainee at the company in 2003 and has worked at various levels within the HR department since then.

In 2014, she resigned from the brewery while she was the Head of Reward for Diageo Africa and joined Airtel Africa as the Head of Organisation Effectiveness and Reward.

After Airtel she worked at Mars Wrigley East Africa as Head of People and Organisation in 2015 then went back to Diageo to become the EABL Group HR Director in August 2017.

Jane Karuku. PHOTO/FILE

This comes as Karuku joined EABL on January 1 to become the first woman Group Managing Director.