Former cabinet secretary and veteran banker James Macharia, has been appointed chairman of Sidian Bank in a revamp that has tapped three other new board members.
Macharia's last public role was as Transport Cabinet Secretary in President Uhuru Kenyatta's regime. He also served as Health Cabinet Secretary.
He was tapped from the private sector at a time when he was the NIC Bank Chief Executive officer. The bank later merged with CBA to form NCBA.
The former cabinet secretary who has served for over 42 years both in the private and public sectors, takes over from outgoing chairman James Mworia, the Centum Investment Company Group CEO.
Under the new changes the Centum CEO will step down as chairman but remain on the Sidian Bank board.
“It has been a great honour to serve as Chairman of Sidian Bank since 2014, a period during which we successfully transitioned from K-REP Bank to Sidian Bank and strengthened the institution’s foundation for sustainable growth,” said Mworia.
“I am proud of the progress the bank has made under the stewardship of a dedicated management team and staff, and of the continued trust of our customers and shareholders. I wish the new Chairman, Macharia and the Board every success as they lead Sidian into its next phase of growth and transformation."
The Nairobi Securities Exchange-listed Centum is among top shareholders of Sidian Bank.
In the board changes Sidian has also tapped into the expertise of three other appointees – Prof. Paul Gachanja, Apollo Ong’ara and Madhav Bhandari, in what the bank described as "strategic reorganisation".
“I’m happy to be joining Sidian Bank at a very exciting growth phase of the business. I thank my predecessors for a job well done, as I look forward to an exciting and transformational journey ahead,” said Macharia.
His banking career has seen him hold various capacities at Standard Chartered Bank, African Banking Corporation and NIC Bank Group.
The bank also announced the appointment of professor Paul Gachanja, an Associate Professor of Economics and Registrar (Administration and Finance) at Kenyatta University.
Financial services veteran Ong’ara brings three decades of experience, held senior roles at KCB, Family Bank, Citibank and Barclays in Kenya and Ghana.
He is currently a financial consultant advising firms on fundraising and debt restructuring. Bhandari, the Managing Partner at accounting firm Baker Tilly for over 20 years, adds strong financial oversight and audit expertise to the Board.
