Kenya commercial Bank chief executive officer Joshua Oigara is set to be unveiled as the new CEO later this later to take over from his close buddy The Legend Bob Collymore who passed away after battling with cancer for about two years.
Oigara is credited with super efficiency and corporate discipline at the banking giant KCB. The government is insisting that a Kenyan should fill the now vacant Safaricom CEO position
ICT Cabinet Secretary Joe Mucheru has maintained his position on the succession debate.
“I don’t think the government position has changed, we would still love to see a Kenyan. However like any other company, they (Safaricom) have a choice as to who they want to be their CEO,” Mucheru told local reporters.
Mucheru’s remarks came at a time when there is high expectation that a Kenyan will take over at the helm of the giant telco operator.
Safaricom board today seem to take government’s recommendation of seeking a Kenyan to replace Collymore by appointing a Michael Joseph, a Kenyan to to the acting capacity as the wait to unveil Oigara continues. Sources indicated the board has endorsed Oigara and are waiting for him to conclude the critical KCB vs NBK acquisition/merger and also allowing the KCB board to chose a successor.
According to the popular ‘public opinion court’ represented by social media inter-webs, the KCB boss Joshua Oigara tops the list followed closely by Safaricom Chief Customer Officer Sylvia Mulinge.
Oigara was appointed CEO of KCB at age 37, his appointment in November 2012 to replace the outgoing CEO Martin Oduor-Otieno made him the youngest CEO of a publicly traded bank at the NSE. Prior to his appointment, he served as Chief Financial Officer and Member of the Board of Directors of the Company between January 12, 2012 and January 2013. He also served as Group Chief Financial Officer at KCB Bank Group for East Africa.
He joined the Bank in November 2011 from Bamburi Cement where he served as Group Financial Director and Chief Financial Officer for the East Africa region. Oigara holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from University of Nairobi and Master of Business Administration from Edith Cowan University and a host of other qualifications. He is one of Africa’s most sought CEOs.
Leave a Reply