Vice President, Public Affairs, Communications & Sustainability, Africa, The Coca-cola Company Patricia Obozuwa has been appointed as the Vice President, Public Affairs, Communications & Sustainability, Africa at The Coca-cola Company in December 2020. She leads a team that oversees Government Affairs, thought leadership, media relations, corporate communications and sustainability for the company across the African continent.
Prior to that, she was the Chief Communications & Public Affairs Officer for GE Africa – a position she held since April 2012 when she built the communications and public affairs function.
At GE, Patricia led a team of communicators across Sub-saharan Africa, building and protecting GE’S brand and image on the sub-continent. She established GE Africa’s corporate social responsibility platform, GE Kujenga aimed at empowering people by building valuable skills, equipping communities with new tools and technology and elevating innovative ideas that are solving Africa’s challenges.
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In 2016, Patricia established the ‘ GE Lagos Garage’ a hub for advanced manufacturing skills development that has produced over 2,400 graduates in Nigeria (March 2020). She is the founding co-hub leader of the GE Women’s Network for Sub-saharan Africa.
Prior to joining GE, she was Head, External Relations, Nigeria and Corporate Communication Leader, Sub-saharan Africa at Procter & Gamble (P&G).
Patricia is a Non-executive Director of The Water Trust (Us-headquartered Non-profit Organisation).
With her steady rise in career, Patricia will readily tell you that being a boss lady doesn’t come without its challenges.
According to her, “Over the years, I have always embraced challenges from different angles, especially professional challenges. No one is immune to challenges but it is the way we handle it that matters. I have seen them as stepping stones to greater things, so when you go through those challenges, because they will not come to stay, you must never see them as your reason to halt, you must keep making progress, you must keep on keeping on, one day, real soon, you will understand why you went through all you did” she said.
On joining The Coca-cola company, she says “I am humbled to serve in my current capacity as VP, it is a huge responsibility and I am honoured to embrace this role and grateful to belong to a company that upholds excellence. It is time to get to work and with the help of God, we will yield great results” She said.
To every young lady out there desiring to get to the peak of her career, she has this to say “Never despise your days of little beginnings and never doubt yourself. The only one who can stop you is you. As long as you are determined and focused, you will make it” Patricia admonished.
