Peter Ndegwa has been appointed as the next Safaricom PLC Chief Executive.
In a press release, Safaricom PLC Chairman Nicholas Ng’ang’a said Ndwegwa will take over the position in April 2020, meaning Michael Joseph will act until then.
Joseph was named acting CEO on July 2 a day after the death of Bob Collymore who succumbed to cancer.
“The Safaricom PLC Board of Directors has today resolved to appoint Mr. Peter Ndegwa as the company’s Chief Executive Officer effective April 1, 2020. He joins Safaricom from Diageo PLC where he is the Managing Director of Diageo Continental Europe,” the statement said,
Nganga said the board is confident that Ndegwa will carry on Safaricom’s vision of transforming lives and meeting customers’ needs and” holding us to our new commitment of being Simple, Transparent and Honest.”
Ndwegwa is experienced in general management, commercial and business strategy, sales and finance operations, having spent over 25 years in various roles within the Financial Services and Fast-Moving Consumer Goods sectors in Africa and Europe, the statement noted.
Ndegwa has been overseeing the operations of Diageo PLC in 50 countries in Western and Eastern Europe, Russia, Middle East and North Africa region.
He previously served for seven years as Guinness Nigeria PLC and Guinness Ghana Breweries PLC chief executive, where he transformed the two operations to deliver a double-digit growth by investing in people, introducing new brands and reorganising the businesses.
He has also served across a range of senior Executive Director roles at EABL (a Diageo subsidiary) based in Nairobi. Serving as the Group Chief Finance Officer, Group Strategy Director, Sales Director, and as an Executive Director on the EABL Board in eight years.
“He was part of the team that saw the EABL business more than doubled in value – and winning the coveted Most Respected Business Award in East Africa for five years in a row,” Nganga said.
He started his career at PwC, the global consulting firm, where he worked for 11 years.
He holds an MBA from the London Business School and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Nairobi. He is also a Certified Public Accountant and a member of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Kenya.
