Accra, April 4, GNA – Arla Foods, producers of Dano milk variants, has appointed Mr.Paul Nortey Dowuona as the Managing Director to lead the Ghana business since it started operations in 2017.
He is the first Ghanaian to be appointed to head the business.
His appointment takes effect on August 1st, 2024.
The Company, in a news brief, indicated that Mr. Dowuona would take over from Vytautas Petronis, who has been appointed as Head of the Company’s other outlet in Indonesia.
Prior to his appointment,Mr Dowuona was the Head of West Africa Distributor Sales (Export Sales).
Mr. Anna Månsson, Vice President and Head of West Africa, reacting to the appointment said, Ghana was the second most populous country in West Africa, a stable democracy and a hub for many multi-national companies in Sub Sahara Africa.
He said as such Ghana offered great growth opportunities for Arla Foods both in traditional trade with DANO powder and EVAP milk and in modern trade and food service with chilled assortment.
“With his passion for good business, extensive experience from FMCG businesses in West Africa, his local knowledge from the Ghanaian market, energy, and personality, I’m very happy Paul has agreed to head the Arla Foods business in Ghana and distributor sales to all English-speaking countries in the region.
“After some difficult years, the Ghana team managed to deliver its first ever positive EBIT result last year despite a very difficult business environment with record high inflation and currency devaluation. I would like to seize this opportunity to thank Vytautas Petronis for his leadership, his focus on getting the basics right and find strategic solutions for growing profitably. I wish him all the best in his new role,” he said.
He also said with a stable business platform in place, the aim was now to grow profitably by focusing on the right consumer offering in each channel (product, taste, price and availability).
He noted that the Ghana team together with Paul’s personality, experience, energy, and leadership would make that happen.
Mr. Dowuona expressed excitement about his new role, saying: “I feel truly humbled by this new opportunity to head the Arla business in Ghana. It will be a pleasure to continue the growth trajectory of this business as Ghana strives back from the tough economic period in the last years.
“I am looking forward to growing the Ghana team and myself in all the necessary business areas, adding fresh thoughts, optimistic approaches, and the right mindset so we can deliver outstanding results, as a strong pillar in the West Africa business, ” he said.
Mr. Paul Dowuona has over thirteen (14) years of sales experience, joining ARLA as the Head of Sales for the Ghana Cluster in 2022, and then Head of Distributor Sales business, West Africa in 2023
He previously worked with Nestlé in varying sales roles in Ghana, Sierra Leone, and Liberia, as well as with Upfield, also within the West African sub-region.
GNA