Online Meeting on Zoom
Africa Section Annual General Meeting 2026
Friday 6th November at 12 noon GMT (2pm in South Africa, 3pm in East Africa and 11am in West Africa).
Please cast your vote by Wednesday 4th November.
CIBD AFRICA SECTION
NOTICE OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
Notice is hereby given that the Annual General Meeting of the Chartered Institute of Brewers and Distillers – Africa Section will be held as follows:
DATE: 6th November 2026
TIME: 12:00 GMT ; 14:00 AST
VENUE: Online via Zoom.
AGENDA
- Welcome from the Chairperson.
- Present and apologies for absence.
- Confirmation of the minutes of the previous Annual General Meeting held on 19 November 2025.
- Chairperson’s Report.
- Training Report.
- Honorary Treasurer’s Report and approval of the accounts for 2025 (subject to confirmation of the reporting period).
- Election of Committee.
- Any Other Business.
Meet your prospective Africa section
Prospective Chair
Chris Smart
Chris Smart has a BSc in Biotechnology, an Executive MBA and a PhD in yeast biotransformations. He also passed the CIBD Diploma in Distilling in 2016 completing all three modules in the same year. Chris was, until recently, the Head of Business Development at the CIBD and has worked for breweries and distilleries including a distillery he co-founded in 2017. He is currently Head of Business Development at Carling Recruitment.
Chris has a strong affiliation with the CIBD Africa Section, where he is a member, having attended several of the Section congresses over the years including South Africa, Ghana, Uganda and Mozambique. He is standing for Chair of the Africa Section to support the many CIBD students, members and breweries/distilleries on the continent and his ambition is to bring the community closer together through in-person and online events, webinars and technical tours.
Prospective Secretary
Ruth Smith
Ruth worked for SAB, SABMiller for 20 years as a brewer in production and then in projects as a design manager building greenfield breweries in Tanzania, Nigeria & Uganda
Then she moved to a project management company based in Romania working on a variety of projects in the food and beverage industry including bio ethanol plants, chocolate factories and pet food production.
She recently joined ABInBev as a Beer Process Specialist in their Africa Zone Hub. Outside of Brewing, Ruth enjoys competing as a Masters swimmer and playing classical piano.
Prospective Treasurer
Craig Groeneveld
Craig Groeneveld is a CIBD Master Brewer and Director of Master Brewer Consulting, with 28 years’ experience in brewing, distilling, sensory evaluation and product development.
His career includes work with major international brewing groups and independent producers across Africa, Asia and Europe, combining technical leadership with practical operational and commercial experience.
Craig is actively involved in industry education, professional development and knowledge sharing. Currently serving as Acting Treasurer of the CIBD Africa Section, he is standing for nomination as Section Treasurer to support sound financial stewardship, clear reporting and the continued development of the Section and its membership.
Help shape your Section — vote now.
Cast your vote by Wednesday 4th November.
Documents