Business

Dr Gideon Muriuki is the Group Managing Director and the Chief Executive Officer of Co-operative Bank.

He has over 30 years of experience in the banking industry and has served as Co-op MD since 2021.

Under his leadership, the financial institution scooped the Kenya Bankers Association (KBA) 2023 Sustainable Finance Catalyst Award in November.

During the award ceremony, the bank was feted for striking the perfect balance between fostering a sustainable business model and prioritising the nation's future imperatives along with social and environmental concerns.

Joshua Chepkwony alias CK Joshua is the founder of Kass Media Group, which runs Kass Television and Radio.

CK also owns Jamii Telecommunications, which offers Faiba services. Apart from telecommunications, he also owns Eldoret-based Jamii Millings, a major player in the cereals milling industry.

Joshua Chepkwony launched Kass Media Group in 2005, before going ahead to launch Faiba networks in 2016.

Richard Mathenge is the team lead at Sama - a global company that focuses on data annotation solutions for enterprise Artificial Intelligence (AI) models.

He is a resourceful Public Relations professional with over seven years' experience in the Customer Service industry. 

He has also been instrumental in promoting Artificial Intelligence within the continent. 

Mathenge, alongside other Kenyans were part of the team outsourced for training ChatGPT. 

Hasmukh Patel is an accomplished industrialist and a philanthropist.

Patel is the founder of one of Kenya's biggest cement manufacturers, Mombasa Cement.

He is also the director of Corrugated Iron Sheets in Kenya and Tororo Cement which is based in Uganda.

Through his foundation Hasmukh Patel Foundation, Patel has supported needy students across the country with scholarships. He has also sponsored various charitable causes across various industries.

Christine Mawia Sammy is a Kenyan nurse with 27 years of experience.

She currently works at Kitui County Referral Hospital and has played a pivotal role in improving newborn survival rates in the neonatal department. 

Christine is credited with transforming a nursery room into an independent newborn unit at the Kitui County Referral Hospital. 

Because of her efforts, newborn fatality rates have reduced from 50 per cent to under 10 per cent within a year. 

Kariuki Ngari is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Standard Chartered Bank Kenya, a position he has held for the past four years. 

Ngari is a decorated career banker with over three decades of experience across Retail, Corporate, Treasury and Risk management. 

Throughout his career, he has held various senior leadership roles across the industry at both local and international level. 

It is said that leadership is a skill and Tom Gitogo, the Group Managing Director and the CEO of Britam Holdings Plc, has it in abundance.

Gitogo sits at the helm of a modern financial services company with operations in 7 African countries including Uganda,  South Sudan, Mozambique, Tanzania, Rwanda, and Malawi.

He is an accomplished professional with skills ranging from General Management, Finance Operations and Talent Management, as well as Commercial and Business Strategy.

Anthony Githinji is the founder of Semiconductors Technologies Limited (STL) which is steering Kenya into the technological world.

Located in Nyeri, STL deals in nanotechnology products designed to power modern devices ranging from mobile phones to refrigerators.

Githinji is a visionary and has earned admiration after he partnered with Dedan Kimathi University to train students in STEM with the sole objective of scouting and growing the right workforce for his company.

Jane Karuku is a captain of industry and a business leader with over 20 years of experience in management across diverse sectors.

She is the current Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the East Africa Breweries Limited (EABL), a position she has held since 2021.

While discharging her duties, Dr. Karuku abides by her mantra "Grow people with energy", which she believes will inspire and help them to unleash their potential.

Nzambi Matee is the embodiment of creative and resilient individuals.

The 31-year entrepreneur is a mechanical engineer by profession, environmentalist, and a hardware designer.

Matee, a sustainability enthusiast, has earned admiration for building an enterprise, Gjenge Makers Limited, which turns plastic waste into bricks.

Through her business, she has not only managed to clean the environment but also created jobs as well.