
Nelly Wainaina
Group Director- Marketing, Communication & Citizenship, NCBA GROUP PLC, East Africa
Heritage Jury Member
About
Nelly
An Award-Winning Executive with a Passion for Leadership in Africa.
My Purpose is to Find Young People who are hungry enough and give them a platform to Change the World in their own way.
What drives me is as a first born raised by a single mom, adversity is the wind beneath my wings. I wake up every morning knowing that success is not a choice making me relentless and focused on excellence in everything I do.
I have over 25 years of International Marketing experience across multiple countries driving Strategic Marketing initiatives.
For 10 Years, I lived and worked in Nigeria, South Africa plus Switzerland and throughout my career have travelled to multiple destinations across the World.
Prior to my current role, I held multiple positions in Global multinational companies locally, regionally, and internationally including The Coca-Cola Company, Colgate-Palmolive, Reckitt Benckiser and Mondelez.
My education background includes an MBA in Leadership from The African Leadership University Business School based in Kigali, Rwanda, a Bachelor of Economics degree from University of Nairobi, a post graduate Diploma from the Chartered Institute of Marketing and CPA studies at Strathmore College. Yes, I went to Alliance Girls High School.
I am a Global Award Winner of the Colgate Chairman and CEO You Can Make a Difference Award in 2014, Voted Top 40 Under 40 Women in Kenya 2010, have served on various Boards, led Women Leadership Initiatives, , Top 25 Most Influential Women in Marketing Impacting Businesses 2022, ranked first among the Top 25 Most Impactful Women in Corporate Communications 2024 by Business Monthly East Africa, Marketing Woman of the Year award at the 13th MarketingWorld Awards in Kenya, C-Level Leadership Excellence Award in 2024, Overall Winner at the DIAR Awards March 2025,MarketingWorld’s CMO of the Week June 2025,SheMarketers Alliance IWD 2026 women spotlight ranked and ranked among the Top 100 African CMOs by Brand Africa in March 2026.
