Anne Joy Michira–Muhoro, 38

Head of Marketing-Beer,

EABL

Anne can only regret over the few years she lost quietly searching for perfection. But she is now the embodiment of the “jump out the window and grow wings on the way” mantra.

At 38, she is humbled by the achievements she has chalked up so far but she is also kept awake by her red-hot ambitions.

Armed with a Bachelor of Commerce (Finance option) degree from the University of Nairobi, her passion has carried her to great heights, higher than what education certificates can.

After university, she was obsessed with being a management trainee but failed her first interview at Kenya Breweries Limited (KBL).

"What drives me is building future leaders. I look in the mirror and try to be that leader that I expect my leaders to be."

“I was working as a bank clerk but a friend of mine told me to try for sales job at British American Tobacco (BAT). From there, it was such a natural fit,” says Anne, a mother of two.

From joining BAT in 2005 as a trade marketing representative, she would later on join KBL and rise to become East Africa head of beer marketing at the East African Breweries Limited (EABL).

Her success lies in stretching her limits and giving it all she can, even in the humblest of tasks. She carries integrity, honesty and team work irrespective of the role she is playing.

“What drives me is building future leaders. I look in the mirror and try to be that leader that I expect my leaders to be,” says Anne.

She joined EABL in 2015 as the marketing manager for mainstream spirits at a time when the spirits business was very small. Chrome Vodka had been launched and still struggling.

Within two years, however, Chrome Vodka became the third brand by sales volume for Kenya Breweries while Kenya Cane grew 30 per cent, thanks to repackaging and introduction of new flavours.

In 2017, her role was expanded to head all spirits within EABL before another promotion to her current role in June 2019.

To rise, she has learnt to never dwell so much on what she doesn’t have, but rather to maximise on what she has.

At one point, she struggled with selling her vision, something that made it easy for people to either ignore her success or claim that it was out of luck.

“I used to do a lot of work but never sold my vision or claimed credibility. At one point I stagnated in my career. It is important to engage people on your vision,” she says, as a cautionary word to upcoming professionals.

Her passion besides work is her children and cooking. She loves trying out on new recipes.

–Patrick Alushula