Our Senior Management Team

Ahmed Elafifi has been Managing Director of Coca-Cola HBC Egypt since November 2018, and during this time has led a company-wide transformation to accelerate business growth, capabilities, and people-development.

He started his Coca-Cola journey in 1996, heading-up the marketing function for The Coca-Cola Company in Central Eastern Europe and Russia, and was General Manager of Coca-Cola HBC Poland from 2011 to 2013.

Ahmed started his business career in 1991 gaining experience in marketing, sales and key account management across major consumer product companies in Egypt and Germany.  Ahmed’s experience also includes the management of a global energy drink brand in 60 countries in Central, Eastern Europe and Asia and he also founded an entrepreneurial start-up, creating a premium lifestyle beverage brand.

After graduating in 1991 from the American University in Cairo as a Design Mechanical Engineer, Ahmed completed his executive development at IMD Business School Switzerland, Wharton Business School, and Goizueta Business School, USA. Ahmed has both Austrian and Egyptian citizenships and has worked in 10 different countries during his career.

He played handball and squash professionally for a time, and today enjoys reading and travelling, having visited more than 70 countries.

Samer El Hamalawy was appointed Supply Chain Director for Coca-Cola HBC Egypt in 2021.

He started his career in 1998 as a field engineer at Schlumberger, a world leading oil exploration company, working in several countries both on and offshore.

In 2002, he joined a leading multinational food, snack, and beverage corporation as a projects manager. From 2002 to 2015 Samer assumed several roles within the supply chain sector, including projects, production, and plant management, before being promoted to Manufacturing Director for Egypt and then Supply Chain Director for Egypt.

In 2015, Samer was appointed General Manager of Operations for one of the largest producers of milk, juice and yoghurt in Egypt, responsible for the end-to-end supply chain. In 2020 he moved to the United Arab Emirates to take up a role as Regional Supply Chain Director for water, juice and hygiene business, overseeing the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region.

Samer holds a BSc in Engineering and an MBA in Finance and Marketing from the American University in Cairo. He also completed an executive leadership program at IMD Business School in Switzerland.

Rana has worked at Coca-Cola HBC Egypt for 25 years, joining as External Affairs Coordinator before her appointment to Director of Public Affairs & Communications in 2015. Rana is responsible for enhancing the reputation of the business, creating and sharing value for local communities and stakeholders in Egypt. She is well-known for her network and connections to the business industry, and contributions to social and public society in Egypt.

Rana holds several voluntary roles to help shape and contribute to the economic and social development of the country. She is Vice Chair of the Chamber of Egyptian Food Industries, Chairperson of the Woman in Business Committee at the Federation of Egyptian Industries and Board Member at the Federation of Sports for Mental Disabilities. She is also a member of the Trade & Industry Committee at the American Chamber, Board of Trustees at the Sustainability Business Council of Egypt, Tax & Customs Committee at the Federation of Egypt Industries, British Egyptian Business Association (BEBA), Canada Egypt Business Council, and is Public Relations Consultant for Sadat City Investors Association.

In 2017, Rana Gamali was recognized as one of the top 50 performing women in Egypt.

Bassem joined Coca-Cola HBC Egypt in 2014 as Head of the Internal Audit Function, establishing the auditing processes to support company’s strong Compliance and Governance framework, and auditing of Depots and Plants. He is also responsible for the company’s Master Data Management. During his tenure, he successfully led more than 100 cross-functional process leaders to move Egypt to a new Enterprise Resource Planning system, SAP4Hanna.

Since the acquisition of Egypt business, Bassem has led the master planning of the integration of Coca-Cola HBC Egypt into the Coca-Cola HBC Group, working cross-functionally to ensure a seamless experience for all employees and stakeholders and to drive efficiencies.

Prior to joining Coca-Cola HBC Egypt, Bassem spent over 10 years in the United Kingdom working at the Ernst and Young Consultancy Firm, where he advised global businesses in Europe and emerging markets.

Bassem has more than 20 years’ experience in the fields of Process Excellence, Internal Audit, Risk Management, Compliance and Corporate Governance, and extensive knowledge of the FMCG and food manufacturing sectors in particular.

Ahmed Adel was appointed to the role of Chief Information Officer, Coca-Cola HBC Egypt in September 2021, following 20 years’ experience within local FMCG and Technology companies.

Ahmed started his career in 2001 as IT Technical Support in a steel manufacturing business, before taking a senior IT management position at Gozour Holding in 2008.  In 2011, he relocated to Saudi Arabia, where he worked for a leading food manufacturing and distribution company, operating across three countries within the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). In 2017, with a promotion to the role of Group Head of IT, Ahmed’s career brought him to UAE where he oversaw 12 countries in North Africa and Asia. He also held the position of Technology Lead in the company’s Group Risk Management Committee.  

Kostis Vairlis was appointed CFO of Coca-Cola HBC Egypt in July 2022.  

Kostis began his career with Coca-Cola HBC in 2002 as an Internal Auditor in Vienna Head Office. Over his 20-year career with the company, he has undertaken many assignments across the  Group’s Head Office and several Business Units. 

In 2004, he was appointed Regional Financial Analyst for Central Europe and, in 2007, became Chief Financial Officer for Fresh&Co, a joint juice venture of The Coca-Cola Company & Coca-Cola HBC Serbia, while also leading the SAP Wave 2 Transition in the Serbia & Montenegro business unit.  

In April 2012, he joined the Island of Ireland business unit as Commercial Finance Manager, and led the Hungary business unit’s finance team from 2014. In 2017, he was appointed Chief Financial Officer for the Poland and Baltic business unit, leading the integration of financial operations across four markets, while launching Costa Coffee and Premium Spirit portfolios.

Among his greatest achievements from his time in Poland and Baltics include the development of an engaged and high-performing team, a robust governance strategy for the implementation of the sugar tax in Poland, and the successful acquisition of the Costa Express business in 2021.  

Kostis started his career with Arthur Andersen in Greece, as Risk Consultant. He holds a BSc in European Business Studies from American College of Thessaloniki, Greece and a Masters in Accounting from Lancaster University, UK. Since 2021, he is a Coca-Cola HBC internal certified coach. 

Kostis is a sailing enthusiast and loves cooking.

General Said was appointed Security & Industrial Relations Director in August 2021, having previously worked as the Regional Security Manager for Greater Cairo from 2020 to 2021.

In 1998, General Said was assigned counsel rank by the Ministry of Exterior in Jeddah and was selected to the position of Director of the National Security - Cairo Department in 2011. In 2018, he was appointed Deputy Governor of Aswan.

General Said has considerable experience in police operations, criminal and legal investigations, strike management and industrial relations. 

Amira is the Office Manager for the Managing Director at Coca-Cola HBC Egypt since 2019. She assists the Managing Director and Management Team by leading the administrative responsibilities in the company and managing the general office. She also contributes to various strategic projects across many functions.

Amira graduated from the American University in Cairo in 2010 with the highest honors in a Bachelor of Economics and Business Administration degree, with a minor in Psychology. She started her career in the banking sector, before gaining experience in the education and insurance sectors. Amira is a certified life coach who is passionate about supporting people to achieve their personal and professional goals. She swims professionally, enjoys reading and travelling.