The South African Breweries says Bridget Makhura has maintained a sterling record in various roles.
Bridget Makhura has been with the South African Breweries (SAB) for eight years and has held various positions including district manager, country managing director and board member at Eswatini Beverages and, most recently, regional commercial director. She has now been appointed VP of People in Africa.
In her most recently held role, she managed to increase employee engagement from 79 percent to 89 percent, and facilitated the growth in net revenue and regional volume despite the various alcohol bans implemented during the hard lockdown.
Not only does Bridget have extensive experience, she also holds various academic qualifications. She obtained her master’s in chemistry from Wits University in 2011, an MBA from GIBS in 2014, and is currently pursuing a doctor of business administration from Westford University College.
Bridget has ambitions to direct all talent and employee engagement efforts on the continent to “inspire and elevate the change that beer propels in this country” .
She is looking forward to seeing SAB grow and expand its impact, which she believes is driven by its people.“These eight years at SAB showed me how resilient SAB and its employees really are. The last two years have been particularly rough on us, but despite that, we managed to grow, and that can only be attributed to the amazing people who work at SAB,” she says.
“SAB is on the verge of a new horizon, and we are redefining what it means to be a beer company. People are a key driver of this evolution, and I feel honoured to have a front-row seat to witness how our people will move SAB forward,” she adds.
While occupying this role, she hopes to water the seeds her predecessor, Lucia Swartz, has planted. “Lucia was a key agent for cultural transformation and increasing leader-led engagement in Africa. I hope to build on the foundation Lucia has already cemented,” she concludes.
