KFC Africa has appointed Nolo Thobejane as head of rest of sub-Saharan Africa (RoSSA), which is made up of 22 growth markets. This appointment became effective on 1 January 2022.
Having joined the KFC business in 2005 as human resources business partner, Thobejane, who was born in Tshwane, rose through the ranks to her former/previous executive post of franchise operations and engagement director for the RoSSA region.
Accelerating African growth agenda
In her new role, Thobejane will assume overall accountability over the brand’s sub-Saharan markets, a key region for the brand, and will oversee and accelerate the group’s growth agenda while ensuring franchise partners uphold KFC brand standards and values in serving customers, teams and communities.
Speaking to the appointment, Akhona Qengqe, chief people and transformation officer at KFC Africa said: “Nolo has been instrumental in the expansion of at least five of the 22 RoSSA markets, one of them being a fully virtual process. An amazing collaborator, deliberate people-grower and a culture ambassador, there could not be a better person to take on this very pivotal role in our organisation.”
In a statement, the company described Thobejane as a well-rounded leader from both a people and operations perspective.
Thobejane commented, “KFC has set the bar high in the QSR sector, so we already have strong foundations in place in sub-Saharan Africa. My goal is to move that bar even higher – especially around partner capability as a key enabler of growth. People and Culture will always remain critical in unlocking potential in growth markets.”
“My role will encompass ensuring that our talent and the skills required are future-proofed post-Covid and while more immediately tapping into new channels driven by e-commerce and finding opportunities to amid the pandemic to continue to drive brand trust. The right skills and partnerships create the kind of stability and culture that both people and business need in an environment where change is inevitable and happening at an exponential rate.”
“By using our culture as the competitive edge, and by progressively building our capability, we will further enable our partners to grow. There is something special about our continent which really resonates with the KFC culture and what we stand for. In sub-Saharan Africa, this is the basis of our recipe for success,” Thobejane concluded.
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