In conversation: Nathan Kalumbu, Coke’s midfield marshal

“When we undertake community projects, we are not thinking Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) as ‘a nice to do’ but are committed to our consumers and our communities for the long term.

“We served our first Coca-Cola in South Africa in 1928 and have remained as committed to the continent ever since. So if we do something to make our communities more viable, stronger, more prosperous, it is because it makes very good business sense.”

Window-dressing CSR is just that, window-dressing; it tends to roll back when no one is looking. But when the effects of CSR hit your pocket, you tend to take it seriously and, in fact, not think about it as CSR but as a component of your business model.

Nurturing talent
Clearly, Nathan Kalumbu wanted to tell me about myriad projects the company has in Africa but first I wanted to find out how this Zimbabwean had managed to climb so high on the corporate ladder.

He was born in Harare and completed all his studies, including obtaining a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Zimbabwe, in the country of his birth. He later went to Emory University in Atlanta, in the US, for his Master’s in Business Administration. He joined the Coca-Cola Company in Zimbabwe in 1990 as the Central Africa region’s External Affairs Manager, before moving into Marketing Operations and Country Management roles in Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi. After a stint in South Africa as executive assistant to the Division President, he returned to Zimbabwe but this time as Region Manager for Central Africa.

‘We served our first Coca-Cola in South africa in 1928 and have remained as committed to the continent ever since. So if we do something to make our communities more viable, stronger, more prosperous, it is because it makes very good business sense’

He ran the region so well that he was asked to take over as head of the Nigeria operations. Many executives, reared in the comparative ease of corporate life in Southern Africa would have balked at the Nigerian assignment.

“But I loved it,” he told me. “It was a real ‘ah-ha’ moment for me. I learnt a good deal from my time in Nigeria. It was challenging but it was also so dynamic.” His stint, from 2000 to 2004, was a roaring success. Here was a young man conquering territory after territory. “But I had spent 14 years of my career in Africa,” he recalled. “I now wanted to see the world and broaden my perspectives.” The company agreed and appointed him as business planning director and executive assistant to the retail division president of North America.

Although he had studied for his master’s in the US, this was a brand-new experience for him. Everything, bar the core values, was different. He soaked up the experiences that came his way thick and fast. But after a few years, “I felt homesick for Africa,” he recalls. “I remember meeting my boss and saying that I would like to head back to Africa, ‘that is where my heart is, that is where my passion is’.”

Once again, the company obliged and he found himself in Nairobi, as Director of Business Strategy and Planning for East and Central Africa. Two years later, he was in charge of the whole of sub-Saharan Africa with the exception of South Africa.

By this time, he had gone through the executive mill, starting with external affairs when he first joined the company in Zimbabwe, to professional marketing, executive marketing, general management and strategic management. At each step, the territory under his watch grew larger. Now he was Business Unit president over 31 countries in Africa, including the island nations of Mauritius and Madagascar.

There was only one way left for him to go. After six years, in January 2013, he was appointed President of the Eurasia and Africa Group, comprising 84 vastly different countries on three continents.

The global, local balance

Nathan Kalumbu had already hinted that interacting with local communities was an important aspect of Coke’s approach to business. This was a perfect fit for his own aspirations. He found the exuberance and enthusiasm for life in Africa inspiring and uplifting. “There is tremendous optimism in Africa,” he says. “Surveys indicate that 84% of Africans believe that things will get better in two years. There is no place better than that.” Coke celebrated 85 years in Africa last year, having started out in South Africa in 1928.

But apart from his natural empathy for the continent, Africa, he says, is very key to Coke from the business perspective. “This is not only in the performance and growth of our business in the Eurasia and Africa Group but it is important to the growth potential for our company on a global basis. ”