My Professional Profile
October 15, 2024
Waithera is a seasoned marketer with specialist capabilities in media, digital and eCommerce. Over the last 20 + years, she has been a pioneer in media and digital marketing, leading execution of impactful marketing campaigns in various African markets in the CPG, Media and Telecommunications Industries.
Waithera is the lead of the Africa Digital Hub at Diageo Plc, a shared serviced initiative designed to deliver rapid digital capability deployment in key technical areas, in service of market performance in line with Diageo’s unique digital transformation programme.
Prior to this, Waithera was the Head of Media Futures, at EABL, where she led strategy and execution of media and digital to build EABL’s portfolio of over 30 brands including Guinness, Johnnie Walker, Tusker, Serengeti and Bell Lager. In a span of under 5 years she grew the media and digital capability of the EABL marketing and leadership team pioneering the use of marketing technology to deliver efficiencies, launching EABL’s first D2C ecommerce platform- ke.thebar.com during the pandemic and nurturing the local creative industry by partnering with over 300 content creators across East Africa to effectively connect EABL brands in culture. In the last 3 years EABL has won the Overall Best Marketing award at the Marketing Society Awards!
Waithera took on the mantle as the Responsible Marketing champion for EABL, ensuring all brands are in compliance to Diageo’s Marketing and Digital Codes. In line with Diageo’s Society 2030 sustainability goals, she collaborated with the Corporate Relations team to promote brand moderation messages in line with the Positive Drinking initiative, reaching over 17M consumers with this message. She has a strong passion and commitment for Inclusivity & Diversity and spearheaded EABL’s Progressive Marketing program that ensures positive portrayal of gender in media, advertising and entertainment, that has seen EABL commit over 7% of its media investment to this cause.
In 2020, Waithera launched EABL’s in-house digital creative team- DigiTribe, a first for Diageo in Africa, as it changed the agency-client model of working to deliver productivity and to put the brands in culture. In 2021, Waithera was recognized as the Digital Champion at Diageo’s Pride of Africa Awards by the Africa President for her role in using digital for a connected path to purchase during the and the successful launch of the first D2C platform for Diageo in Africa.
Prior to joining EABL, Waithera spent 6 years at Coca-Cola Central, East and West Africa as the Digital Marketing Manager in the Integrated Marketing Communications role working on campaigns such as, the award-winning Coke Studio Africa, FIFA World Cup 2014 and 2018, and Share a Coke. As a pioneer in digital media in East Africa she led the digital transformation of Kenya’s first FM station, 98.4 Capital FM, resulting in key shifts in the way radio and digital is consumed in the region today. Waithera started her career in the U.S. in the telecommunication industry working for AT&T in the consumer markets division. In 6 years, she was promoted severally into various roles in sales and marketing before she opted to move back home to Kenya in 2003.
As a thought leader in marketing, her work has been published in Adweek, Fast Company, Biz Community, The Standard and Business Daily. She is the founder and host of the Marketing Society of Kenya (MSK) podcast #iMarket. She has provided expertise as a Jury Member at the 2017, 2022 and 2024 Loeries Awards (South Africa), the 2018, 2019 and 2024 LIA Awards (USA), the 2020 and 2021 MSK Awards, and the 2021 WARC awards.
Waithera is passionate about serving her community and is a proud Rotarian, serving as the PR Director for Rotary Club of Lavington Jioni in 2020/21 and was recognised as a Paul Harris Fellow in 2023. She is the founder and Chair of the Second Chances Foundation that advocates for dignified cancer care for Kenyans. She was a Council member from 2021-2023 at the Marketing Society of Kenya and served as the Chair of the MSK Student National Committee that focused on mentorship of the next generation of marketing leaders. She is an international coach for the LIA Creative program where she mentors young creatives from around the world.
Waithera serves on the board as an Independent non-executive director at Galana Energies where she provides marketing advisory. In August 2024, Waithera received her Practitioners’ Diploma in Executive Coaching from the Academy of Executive Coaching, and is a certified coach with the International Coaching Federation.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/waithera/
Podcast https://soundcloud.com/984capitalfm/sets/imarket-season-3