Top 10 Coolest Bank CEOs in Kenya
When it comes to management of a company or an organization, CEO’s plays a key role in the day to day running of their companies. The nurturing, development and growth of a company is their sole responsibility.
For instance, in Kenya Safaricom CEO Bob Collymore has left a legacy as one of the most reputable CEO’s in Africa, generally because of the achievements he has made since he took over.
Who is a Chief Executive Officer (CEO)?
A chief executive officer (CEO) is the highest-ranking executive in a company, whose primary responsibilities include making major corporate decisions, managing the overall operations and resources of a company, acting as the main point of communication between the board of directors (the board) and corporate operations, and being the public face of the company. A CEO is elected by the board and its shareholders.
General roles of CEO include;
- Board administration and support
- Program, product and service delivery
- Human resource management
- Community and Public Relations
- Fundraising
- Financial, Tax, Risk and Facilities Management.
The banking sector has grown in Kenya over the past few years. Statistically In Kenya there are a total of 40 commercial banks, with Charterhouse Bank under statutory management and Imperial Bank under receivership, 1 mortgage finance company, 13 microfinance banks, 9 representative offices of foreign banks, 73 foreign exchange bureaus, 19 money remittance providers and 3 credit reference bureaus.
But what really makes a someone a good CEO? Here is a list of most reputable and coolest bank CEOs in Kenya;
- Joshua Oigara
Joshua Oigara is the chief executive officer of Kenya’s biggest bank by assets, Kenya Commercial Bank (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.
He 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.
2. Jeremy Ngunze
Jeremy is the Chief Executive Officer of Kenya’s largest privately-owned bank, Commercial Bank of Africa (CBA) Kenya.
He is tasked with overall responsibility for the bank in Kenya in terms of governance, performance management, client relationships, advisory business and human resource management.
Jeremy has had wide experience in the banking industry spanning over 28 years, with rich exposure in Corporate, Consumer and SME Banking. He worked with Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) for 18 years, where he held various top management positions in Africa and Asia regions, prior to joining CBA.
3. James Mwangi
Equity Bank CEO Dr James Mwangi is one of Kenya’s most forward-looking bank.
Dr. Mwangi is also on the Global Advisory Council of VISA, in addition to serving as the current chairman of the Vision 2030 Delivery Board.
He also served on the Clinton Global Initiative, the G8 New Alliance for Food Security & Nutrition and the Global Agenda Council on New Economic Thinking of the World Economic Forum.
He is a guest lecturer at Lagos business school, MIT, Harvard, Columbia, IESE, and Stanford where the Equity Bank model is a case study. He is also the Chancellor of Meru University College of Science and Technology. Recently, he was also appointed as an IFC Economic Advisor.
Mr. Mwangi was recently appointed to the Columbia Global Centers-Nairobi Advisory Board.
4. Gideon Muriuki
Co-operative Bank chief executive, Gideon Muriuki is one of the executives in the country’s public listed companies.
Co-op Bank says in its annual report that it paid Mr Muriuki a total of Sh370 million ($3.7m) in the year ended December 2017 — Sh99.8 million in salary and allowances before crowning it all with a Sh270.7 million ($2.71m) bonus.
The lender cited Mr Muriuki’s long service and his role in turning around the bank from a loss-making operation to one of the country’s biggest lenders as the yardstick for the fat remuneration.
A year after being hired, the lender reported its first net profit of Sh164.7 million ($1.65m) in 2002.
5. Hope Murera
Mrs. Murera is the CEO and Managing Director at Zep-Re (PTA Reinsurance Company).
ZEP-RE is a specialised institution of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa created under the charter. The Company is currently headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya.
She holds a law degree from Makerere University which explains her undying passion for legal thrillers which she can’t get enough off.
While not working, Mrs Murera loves to read, travel and take nature walks.
Some of his popular legal thrillers include; A time to Kill, The Roaster Bar, Skipping Christmas, The Reckoning, Camino Island, Rogue Lawyer and The broker to mentioned just a few.
6. Jeremy Awori
Mr Jeremy Awori is CEO of Barclays Bank of Kenya, which is part of Absa Group Limited.
Barclays is going through the transition from Barclays to Absa but currently it is still known as Barclays Kenya.
Mr. Awori became a banker by accident after graduating from Mcgill University with an MBA in Finance in 1996. He traveled back to Kenya for a brief holiday before going back to the United Kingdom and by chance, he met the Standard Chartered CEO back then who offered him a job despite his lack of experience in banking. His hard work and diligence saw him promoted to become the Executive Director, Consumer Banking in 1999.
He is an avid swimmer having started swimming competitively at the age of 9 years. He went on to represent Kenya in various tournaments across the world which gave him a chance to travel and see the world.
7. Symon Kamore
Mr. Kamore has risen through the ranks to become the CEO of SMEP Microfinance Bank.
He holds a Masters degree in Business Administration double major in Strategic Management and Finance, Certified Public Accountant (K), Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) – ISACA, Bachelor of Education in Sciences.
Mr. Kamore has also attended various specialised training, among them Taxation and Strategic Leadership of Microfinance Institutions (Harvard Business School).
When he is not buried deep at work he loves to blow steam listening to Jazz music.
8. Mrs Nasim Devji
Mrs. Devji joined the DTB Group in 1996 following her appointment as Group Chief Executive Officer of Diamond Trust Banks in East Africa in 2001.
She is a Fellow of The Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales, an Associate of the Institute of Taxation (United Kingdom) and a Fellow of the Kenya Institute of Bankers.
9. Dr. Jennifer Riria
Dr. Riria is the Group CEO of Kenya Women Microfinance Bank and one of Africa’s leading women entrepreneurs.
In 1981 together with a group of professional women from different professions namely lawyers, bankers, financial experts, entrepreneurs and trainers, Riria founded the bank with the sole aim of providing financial services exclusively to address the financial and non-financial needs of the women in Kenya.
From humble beginnings of just two offices in Karatina and Kilifi town, Kenya Women Microfinance Bank has grown to be the leading and the largest Microfinance Bank in Kenya today.
10. Lamin Manjang
Lamin Manjang is the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Standard Chartered Bank.
He has over 15 years of banking experience with Standard Chartered Bank across Africa and the Middle East. Mr Manjang was appointed to the head Standard Chartered on 1 March 2014.
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