Davis & Shirtliff chairman Alec Davis feted for steering water supply revolution in Africa
The 2020 Business Worldwide CEO Awards recognized Davis for his outstanding, leadership that has seen the family-owned company revolutionize water supply in Kenya and other nations in Africa over the last seven decades.
“The company’s Executive Chairman Alec Davis, has been named in the 2020 Business Worldwide CEO Awards for his exceptional leadership and vision,” said the Magazine on its website.
The awards seek to identify and honor the most respected C-level executives across the globe from a variety of different sectors.
“There is no question that Davis & Shirtliff today is a successful organization in spite of operating in what generally are considered to be competitive product segments and is overwhelmingly the leader in many of its markets,” said Davis.
Davis joined the company in 1976, took the helm from his father, Eddie Davis in 1990 and embarked on an aggressive expansion strategy focused on the distribution business.
Under his tenure, the company partnered with a number of high-profile agencies including Italy’s Pedrollo Pumps and established subsidiaries in Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia and Rwanda.
Davis & Shirtliff started its Kenya branch expansion, initially in the major regional towns and also through a takeover of the longstanding Coast distributor Butech.
In 1998, Davis oversaw the restructuring of the executive team that has seen the company record huge growth since the dawn of the new Millenium, including expansion beyond Kenya with subsidiaries in nine countries operating from a total of 80 branches and a staff complement of over 1000 people.
The Chair said being a closed family business has immensely contributed to the key wins that Davis and Shirtliff has recorded over the years it has been in operation.
