CEO exits hit eight at Nairobi listed firms

A total of eight chief executives joined corner offices at Nairobi Securities Exchange-listed firms this year, filling vacancies that were created by various circumstances.

The companies that made substantive or temporary CEO appointments include Safaricom, Kenya Airways, Kenya Power and Limuru Tea.

Others were NCBA Group, East African Portland Cement Company (EAPCC), and National Bank of Kenya (NBK) as well as agricultural firm Sasini.

Safaricom in October appointed former East African Breweries Limited (EABL) finance director Peter Ndegwa as the new chief executive effective April 1, 2020.

He is expected to take over from the acting chief executive Michael Joseph who stepped in after the demise of Bob Collymore on July 1. He had been at the telco’s corner office for about nine years.

Troubled national carrier Kenya Airways (KQ) recently appointed Allan Kilavuka as its acting leader, replacing Polish national Sebastian Mikosz who is set to leave the firm in the next few days.

Mr Kilavuka is the current CEO of the airline’s low-cost subsidiary Jambojet.

The arrest and prosecution of Kenya Power’s Ken Tarus led to the appointment Mr Bernard Ngugi in October to be the new boss.

Mr Ngugi, previously in charge of supply chain, took over over from Mr Tarus who was kicked out in July after being charged with conspiring to commit an economic crime and abuse of office.

Loss-making EAPCC also sacked its managing director, Simon Peter ole Nkeri in May, in what the board termed part of efforts to turn around the Nairobi Securities Exchange-listed firm.

He was replaced by long-serving human resource officer, Stephen Kyalo Nthei, in an acting capacity.

At National Bank (NBK), former KCB group regional business director Paul Russo took over as the managing director in September, ending Wilfred Musau’s tenure at the capital-constrained bank.

NSE-listed agricultural firm Limuru Tea in January appointed Gerridina Johanna Maria Ten Den as its new chief executive, taking over from Nicholaos Yiannakis who had resigned after 19 months at the helm.

Sasini Tea also appointed Martin Ochieng as its new CEO in March. John Gachora was named the chief executive of NCBA Group, the lender that emerged from the combination of the former NIC Group and CBA Group. He previously headed NIC Group.