End of dramatic search for CEO at Nock as Munyes picks Morintat

Mining and Petroleum Cabinet Secretary John Munyes has appointed Leparan Gideon Morintat as the chief executive officer of the State-owned National Oil Corporation of Kenya (Nock).

In a statement on Thursday, Mr Munyes said the appointment takes effect immediately.

Mr Morintat joins Nock from solar provider d. Light where he has been the country manager for Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa.

He is an oil, gas, energy and infrastructure sector insider and has worked in various leadership and management positions including in multinationals such as Multichoice Africa, Mutsui and Co Ltd, and Royal Dutch Shell Group.

The CS said Mr Morintat emerged the best candidate from a shortlist of six and his name along with two others were forwarded to him.

“In my capacity as the Cabinet Secretary for Petroleum and Mining, I’m pleased to announce the appointment of Mr Leparan Gideon Morintat as the chief executive officer (CEO) for the National Oil Corporation of Kenya (Nock),” said Mr Munyes, adding that his “decision follows a rigorous recruitment process conducted by the Nock board of directors.”

He will be taking over from Mr George Kubai, who served in an acting capacity since October last year.

His appointment ends a period of leadership upheavals at the cash-strapped corporation that had seen three acting managing directors appointed in a span of one week.

The drama had been triggered by the resignation of former managing director MaryJane Mwangi in October after a board meeting that ended with her opting not to renew the contract. Subsequently, the board announced the appointment of James Nyamongo from Kenya Pipeline to replace her, a decision that was overruled by CS Munyes five days later. He picked Mr Kubai instead.

According to his LinkedIn profile, Mr Morintat joined d.Light earlier this month from Kenedys Construction Solution, where he was the CEO for two years.

He was also among top three candidates whose names had been forwarded to Mr Munyes for appointment as Kenya Pipeline MD in November. The CS picked Dr Macharia Irungu, a former managing director at Gulf Africa Petroleum Corporation (Gapco).