Safaricom will from April 1 see a change of guard at the helm as Peter Ndegwa makes history as the first Kenyan to head the most profitable telco.
The economist takes from the late Guyanese-born Bob Collymore who in July 2019 succumbed to cancer but left behind a rich legacy.
Ndegwa will take over from the acting CEO British born Michael Joseph who pioneered the introduction of its mobile money transfer service, commonly referred to as M-Pesa.
In an interview with the Daily Nation on April 1, Ndegwa spoke of how he would steer the Safaricom ship to conquer storms amid this turbulent times where the country is experiencing the economic impact of Covid-19.
"A true leader is known in times of adversity, the Covid-19 outbreak will change the way Kenyans interact with one another for a long time and this will create opportunities in agriculture, health and education.
“Learning from home has created opportunities in education through e-learning. We are also looking at how innovation can help us deliver services in healthcare and agriculture,” explained Ndegwa.
“It is time to serve my country. There are two things that I value most — humility and integrity. Integrity is about doing what you say and humility is knowing that there is always something more you can do," he added.
The new CEO will join from Diageo where he was the CEO of Guinness Nigeria, having a career spanning 25 years.
The new Safaricom boss describes himself as a seasoned business and commercial leader with an outstanding track record for transforming organisations and teams and delivering superior performance.
