Rasaq Adedoyin Salami and Hisham Ezz El Arab have joined the Board of Cadbury Nigeria Plc as Independent Non-Executive Director and Non-Executive Director respectively.
Their appointments, effective March 26 2026
are on the heels of the resignation of Abhiroop Chuckarbutty from the Board effective March 26.
The appointment of Doyin Salami and Ezz El Arab to the Board of Directors of Cadbury Nigeria Plc marks a significant strategic move for the consumer goods giant, particularly as it navigates a challenging macroeconomic environment.
Cadbury Nigeria, like many players in the manufacturing sector, has faced significant headwinds, including managing the impact of the Naira’s fluctuations on its foreign-denominated obligations.
Cadbury recently underwent a major conversion of its $7.7 million inter-company loan into equity to deleverage its balance sheet.
Adding a heavyweight like Salami signals to the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) and investors that the company is prioritising robust corporate governance and high-level economic foresight.
The chocolate and beverage maker’s share price reached new low of N63 on Friday March 27, a decline by N7 or 10 percent as against the preceding trading day’s N70.
The stock had before now steadied at N70 for three days before its new dip. The stock of Cadbury Nigeria Plc had reach a 52-week high of N73.9 and a corresponding week low of N22.
Following their appointments, the current Board composition of Cadbury Nigeria Plc is as follows: Adedotun Sulaiman, Chairman;
Folake Ogundipe, Interim Managing Director;
Ibukun Awosika, Non-Executive Director;
Kofo Akinkugbe, Independent Non-Executive Director; Olubunmi Lawson, Independent Non-Executive Director; Sree Patel, Non-Executive Director; Hisham Ezz El Arab, Non-Executive Director; and Rasaq Adedoyin Salami, Independent Non-Executive Director.
Full year scorecards…
Cadbury reported a profit before tax (PBT) of N17.27billion for the full year 2025, representing a 161 percent increase in profit over the loss of N28.33billion that the company recorded for the same period in 2024, according to its unaudited results.
The company’s gross profit rose by 101 percent from N18.23billion to N36.60billion in the period under review, while it reported a net profit of N12.09billion, reversing a loss of N22.22billion that it had reported for the year ended 2024. This translates to a 154 percent increase.
This is as turnover grew by 31 percent from N129.17billion for the year ended 2024, to N169.84billion for the year ended 2025, while its basic earnings per share (EPS) increased by 154 percent to 530 kobo, reversing a loss of 975 kobo recorded for the year ended 31 December 2024.
The stability of the foreign exchange, together with an easing inflation, contributed largely to Cadbury’s return to profitability after two years of skid, according to Folake Ogundipe, interim managing director, Cadbury Nigeria.
Rasaq Adedoyin Salami ….
Rasaq Adedoyin Salami is an experienced economist with over three decades of professional and leadership experience
spanning academia, consulting, public-sector policy, and corporate governance.
A PhD graduate of Queen Mary College, University of London, he is the Chief Executive Officer of KAINOS Edge Consulting Ltd, an applied economics advisory firm he co-founded.
In the private sector, Salami has been involved in the governance of companies across logistics, insurance, asset management, pensions and infrastructure. He currently serves as Chairman of Dryva Logistics Limited – a logistics startup. He has previously led the boards of Prestige Assurance Plc and ARM Investment Managers Limited. He served as Chief Economic Adviser to President Muhammadu
Buhari and earlier was Chairman of the Presidential Economic Advisory Council. Outside Nigeria, he has contributed to
economic policy through roles such as membership of the IMF Advisory Group for Sub-Saharan Africa.
His work in academia is anchored around a long-standing membership of the faculty at the Lagos Business School, Pan Atlantic University. Presently, he is a member of the adjunct faculty. He has taught at the University of Lagos. His work covers macroeconomic modelling, transformation of manufacturing sectors, financial sector reforms, agricultural competitiveness, and market systems development. He has consulted for leading global institutions including DFID, World Bank, United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), USAID, and the International Finance Corporation (IFC).
Hisham Ezz El Arab….
Hisham Ezz El Arab is a highly accomplished executive with 32 years of extensive leadership experience in the FMCG
sector, marked by a distinguished career across Danone and Procter & Gamble. He has a proven track record of driving
significant business acceleration, strategic growth, and complex turnarounds across diverse global markets.
Prior to his current role as Business Unit President for Sub-Saharan Africa at Mondelēz International, Hisham served as
Regional Vice President for Asia, Middle East and Africa (AMEA) at Danone, overseeing business acceleration and strategic growth. Hisham’s profound expertise in operational
excellence, value-driven leadership, and fostering high-performing cultures is firmly rooted in his strong academic foundation, holding a BSc in Mechanical Engineering from the American University in Cairo and having completed management courses at prestigious institutions like MIT, INSEAD, IMD, and IESE.
This, combined with his proprietary ‘5P Roadmap for Business Transformation’ model, uniquely positions him
to empower consumers to ‘snack right’ and unlock significant strategic value in this critical growth region for Mondelēz.
Hisham’s blend of deep professional acumen and a personal commitment to global leadership and learning is reflected in his guest lectureship at the London Business School and advisory role to the French government. Hisham, a French-Egyptian speaks four languages.