Wamwari Waichungo ’90

Dr. Wamwari Waichungo is the Vice President responsible for Global Scientific & Regulatory Affairs at The Coca-Cola Company. Dr. Waichungo leads The Coca-Cola Company’s efforts to evaluate and substantiate the safety and efficacy of all ingredients for more than 3,500 products worldwide.  She leads a team of over 140 people, based in 47 countries, responsible for ensuring the regulatory compliance of ingredients, products, packaging, claims and communication in more than 200 countries. The Board of Directors elected Dr. Waichungo as an officer of The Coca-Cola Company in April 2014.

Dr. Waichungo was born and raised in Kenya. She joined The Coca-Cola Company in 2000 as Strategic Marketing Manager in the Northern African Division based in Nairobi, Kenya. Subsequently, she held positions of increasing responsibility in innovation, strategy, and business planning in roles that took her from Nigeria to Egypt, the U.K, South Africa and beyond. Prior to joining The Coca-Cola Company, Dr. Waichungo held product and consumer research roles at ConAgra Foods, in Omaha, Nebraska, and Campbell Soup Company, in New Jersey.

Dr. Waichungo holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Foods and Nutrition from Montclair State University. In addition, she holds MSc and Ph.D. degrees in Food Science from the University of Missouri-Columbia. She also attended the Program for Leadership Development at Harvard Business School. Dr. Waichungo serves on the board of Community Health Charities, is a member of the President’s Club at Montclair State University and is a distinguished fellow of the Monticello Society at the University of Missouri-Colombia. Dr. Waichungo also serves on the Advisory Council for the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources at the University of Missouri-Colombia. Dr. Waichungo has been a keynote speaker at several events including the 2019 Kenya Scholars and Studies Association Annual Meeting, the 131st AOAC Annual Meeting and Exposition, the 18th IUFoST World Congress of Food Science and Technology and the 2016 Women in Manufacturing Summit. In May 2016, Dr. Waichungo was honored to deliver the Commencement address for the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources at the University of Missouri-Colombia. In 2020, Dr. Waichungo was named Distinguished Alumna for the College of Education and Human Services at Montclair State University.

In her work, teaching, philanthropy and travel to more than 80 countries, Dr. Waichungo advocates for training the next generation of food scientists and closing capacity gaps so that all communities can enjoy safe, abundant food and economic opportunity.