Cadbury Nigeria PLC has named Folake Ogundipe, its finance director, as interim managing director following the retirement of Oyeyimika Adeboye, who will leave the company on November 30, 2025, after reaching Cadbury’s mandatory retirement age.
The development was disclosed in a corporate statement filed by the company, marking the second leadership transition at Cadbury Nigeria in five years.
BusinessDay reports that the transition statement was signed by Frederick Mordi, Cadbury Nigeria’s Head of Corporate Communications and Government Affairs.
Adeboye, who joined the Cadbury Board in 2008 as finance and strategy director for West Africa, was appointed managing director in April 2019. Her appointment made her the first woman to lead the company since it commenced operations in 1965.
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Her tenure spanned a period of significant macroeconomic pressure for consumer goods manufacturers. The industry has faced persistent foreign exchange shortages, rising inflation, and heightened operational costs, all of which weakened margins across the FMCG sector. Under her leadership, Cadbury Nigeria navigated supply-chain disruptions and volatile input prices that affected production planning and profitability. While the company did not detail her financial performance in the statement, analysts say Cadbury faced the same cost and volume constraints confronting other food and beverage players.
Adeboye’s exit leaves the company in a transition phase as Mondelez International, Cadbury Nigeria’s parent company, continues to refine its West Africa strategy amid subdued consumer spending.
In the interim, the Board has assigned day-to-day leadership to Ogundipe, who joined Cadbury Nigeria in September 2025 before being appointed Finance Director. Her appointment as acting Managing Director ensures operational continuity while the board searches for a substantive replacement.
Ogundipe brings experience spanning fast-moving consumer goods, energy services and industrial operations. She previously served as Executive Director, Finance at Unilever Nigeria Plc, held the role of Chief Financial Officer at PES Group, and worked as Financial Controller at Nigerdock Nigeria. Industry watchers say her background positions her to manage Cadbury’s cost-containment efforts and ongoing restructuring initiatives.
The company did not provide a timeline for announcing a permanent Managing Director.