Kigali, March 4, 2025 – The Board of Directors of Bralirwa Plc, part of the HEINEKEN Company, is pleased to announce the appointment of Ethel Emma-Uche as the new Managing Director of Bralirwa Plc, and Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors, effective immediately. Ethel succeeds Etienne Saada, who has led the company with distinction over the past three years. Ethel Emma-Uche joins BRALIRWA from IBECOR SA/NV in Belgium where she has been the Managing Director since 2022. During her leadership, Ethel enhanced the organization and processes towards greater customer focus, supporting the company to excel in their market while ensuring good governance and shaping the future through business expansion, people development, and further digitization. Prior to joining IBECOR, Ethel served as the Supply Chain Director at BRALIMA in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where she played a pivotal role in the turnaround of the business, spearheaded the comprehensive transformation of BRALIMA's supply chain, revamped the supply chain training school, localized key positions, increased the presence of women in the supply chain and achieved notable results in talent development, safety culture and compliance. Ethel previously worked at Nigerian Breweries Plc for over twelve years where she held several positions in supply chain and became a trailblazer for the HEINEKEN Africa Region. Ethel shared her enthusiasm for the new role, stating, I am thrilled to join Bralirwa and build on the strong foundation established by Etienne Saada. I look forward to collaborating with the talented team to continue our journey of innovation and excellence, and to contribute to the company's ongoing success. Her predecessor, Etienne Saada has been the Managing Director of Bralirwa Plc since 2022. During his 3-year tenure, he led the company to achieve sustained performance and several milestones in business growth and expansion which enhanced market dominance with strong brands, transformational leadership, process digitization and operational excellence including silver certification of the Kigali Soft Drinks plant as well as the Africa safety award from The Coca-Cola Company. His career with the HEINEKEN Group, spans over 30 years where he continues to take on notable roles in HEINEKEN’s various operating companies.
