Safaricom finance chief Sateesh Kamath exits, joins Vodafone

Safaricom’s #ticker:SCOM Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Board Executive Director Sateesh Kamath has been appointed as the new Vodafone Business CFO effective July 1.

Before joining the telecom in 2016, Mr Kamath worked at Vodacom Tanzania under similar capacity.

In a statement on Wednesday, Safaricom Chief Executive Officer Peter Ndegwa said the firm will be announcing his successor in due course.

In his new role, Mr Kamath will be reporting to the British firm Vodafone CEO Vinod Kumar besides serving as a member of Vodafone Group Finance Leadership.

“In his four-year tenure, Sateesh built a reputation as an outstanding finance expert in the region, a leader and a mentor, qualities that we at Safaricom have benefitted greatly from and we will deeply miss,” said Mr Ndegwa.

“He played a key role in completion of acquisition of M-Pesa Joint Venture from Vodafone and purchase of critical spectrum while ensuring efficient use of company’s funds,” the CEO said.

Safaricom and its South African parent company Vodacom in April completed the acquisition of the M-Pesa brand from their affiliate Vodafone Group Plc in a Sh1.4 billion transaction.

Vodacom and Vodafone own a combined 40 percent stake in the Nairobi Securities Exchange-listed firm which pioneered the M-Pesa service in the local market.

In the full year to March 2020, Safaricom posted Sh74.7 billion net profit, up xxx percent, driven by strong growth in M-Pesa and data services revenues.