Tertius Carstens named as CEO of PepsiCo Sub-Saharan Africa

PepsiCo has announced the appointment of current Pioneer Foods CEO Tertius Carstens as CEO of PepsiCo Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), effective immediately.

Carstens has led Pioneer Foods since 2017, and his latest appointment follows PepsiCo’s $1.7 billion acquisition of the South African company in March 2020.

The purchase of Pioneer Foods was intended to help PepsiCo gain a ‘solid beachhead’ for expansion into Sub-Saharan Africa. As part of its announcement of the deal in July 2019, PepsiCo revealed it was planning on creating a new operating sector for the region, PepsiCo SSA.

The Sub-Saharan Africa headquarters will be based in South Africa and Carstens will be supported by four business unit leaders – responsible for Essential Foods, Groceries, South Africa Snacks and Sub-Saharan Africa Foods and Beverages respectively.

Carstens is described as a ‘seasoned executive’ with 25 years’ experience and a proven track record in the FMCG industry and the African market. He is said to have been instrumental in the development of Pioneer Foods’ joint ventures, spanning the African continent.

According to PepsiCo, he is also joining the company’s Africa, Middle East and South Asia (AMESA) executive committee.

Eugene Willemsen, current CEO of PepsiCo AMESA, led PepsiCo SSA in 2019.

“Tertius is uniquely qualified and experienced to lead our Sub-Saharan African operations with a strong track record in the FMCG sector and African markets,” said Willemsen.

“His appointment is a major step in enabling the integration of Pioneer Foods into PepsiCo and the successful execution of our Sub-Saharan African growth strategy.”

Commenting on his appointment, Carstens said that the Covid-19 pandemic has made clear, and accelerated, the need for decisive and agile decision making, responsiveness and coordination.

“We believe this will be best served by a single leadership team across the Pioneer Foods, Simba and SSA Food and Beverage businesses, and together we’re looking forward to overcoming the immediate challenges and positioning the business for growth,” said Carstens.