A cross section of stakeholders of Voltic (GH) Limited (Voltic), including its suppliers, customers, and business partners have welcomed François Gazania, the new Managing Director of the country’s premium bottled water company, Voltic, at a ceremony held recently to receive him.

At the same ceremony, Philip Redman, who has led company for the past three years, received a befitting send off.

François Gazania, who took over from Philip Redman in May 2017, has almost two decades of experience in both the alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverage industries.

Prior to this, he was MD of then SABMiller in the Comoros and Mayotte Islands for more than 11 years, in both technical and commercial functions before moving into the General Manager role where he consistently delivered strong business results and establishing himself as an astute business leader.

During this time, François was also responsible for the successful acquisition and integration of a local brewery business on the islands.

Francois has a strong technical and commercial background and holds a Master of Science degree in Food Technology from ENSIA – SIARC, France and a Master of Science degree in Molecular Genetics from the University of Sussex, United Kingdom.

He has benefitted from various continuous professional development programmes including and Training on Inclusive Business at HEC in Paris, France; SABMiller’s Accelerated Leadership Development Program and Management Development Program, both at the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) in South Africa.

Speaking at the ceremony, Francois thanked his successor Philip Redman, who now heads the Accra Brewery Limited, for his remarkable leadership and for ensuring the continuous satisfaction of Voltic’s countless customers while developing employees and building a strong relationship with other relevant stakeholders of the business during his tenure.

Commenting on Mr. Gazania’s appointment, Jacques Vermeulen, Managing Director of Coca Cola Beverages Africa’s International Division (parent company of Voltic) noted, “I am confident that Francois will oversee the growth and expansion of Ghana’s most prestigious bottled water brand and model the company on Coca Cola Beverages Africa’s organisation culture and business strategy, ensuring that, as Voltic refreshes Ghana every day, we are also contributing towards making Ghana a better place for all”.

François is a French native, who’s also fluent in Spanish and speaks English as a second language. Outside the corporate world, Francois was vice-president of the micro-credit association (ADIE), an institution that finances and supports micro entrepreneurs in the Comoros.

He has also organised and coordinated an HIV project in Comoros. He enjoys playing tennis, swimming and trekking and has travelled around Europe, Africa, Central-America, USA and Asia.