• On April 1, 2020, Ndegwa returns to Nairobi, for a second time after working abroad, to take over as the CEO of Kenya's largest Telco, Safaricom.
• Ndegwa left PwC in 2003 as an Associate Director joining East Africa Breweries Limited (EABL) in 2004 as the Group Strategy Director.
When Safaricom was born 19 years ago, Peter Ndegwa was working as a Valuation and Strategy department Manager at PricewaterhouseCoopers in London.
In 2004, as Safaricom was launching Mobile Internet (Edge), Ndegwa was doing a five-year strategy for EABL including an affordable-beer strategy that saw the creation of Senator Keg.
On April 1, 2020, Ndegwa returns to Nairobi, for a second time after working abroad, to take over as the CEO of Kenya's largest Telco, Safaricom.
Ndegwa left PwC in 2003 as an Associate Director joining East Africa Breweries Limited (EABL) in 2004 as the Group Strategy Director.
And after 15 years in the alcohol industry, the Safaricom PLC Board of Directors in a statement on Thursday announced Ndegwa as the new CEO.
He takes over from the late Bob Collymore who passed away on July 1 this year after battling cancer.
Collymore had taken over from the company's first CEO and current acting CEO Michael Joseph in November 2010.
Ndegwa joins Safaricom from Diageo, a global leader in the alcoholic beverages business, where he is currently serving as Managing Director of Continental Europe.
In his current role, he oversees business operations in 50 countries in Western and Eastern Europe, as well as Russia, the Middle East and North Africa region.
He was appointed to the role in July 2018, becoming the first African to run a large business for Diageo outside of Africa.
Ndegwa says that he draws his inspiration from his teachers in primary school, the legendary Dr Geoffrey Griffin - the late founder of Starehe Boys Centre- his alma mater, and his parents, especially his mother.
"Instead of just looking at what governments can do, we need to acknowledge that large organisations can improve society and shift how people think and feel. For me, this is about working with others to build sustainable businesses that can make a difference in people’s lives," Ndegwa says.
Married with one child, Ndegwa 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 (ICPAK).
Prior to this current job, Ndegwa led two of Diageo’s biggest businesses on the continent, Guinness Ghana Breweries Plc and Guinness Nigeria.
"At Diageo Peter has developed a reputation for cultivating a strong inclusive culture which has been paramount in his leadership," Safaricom said in a profile sent to newsrooms.
@SafaricomPLC BOD is pleased to announce Peter Ndegwa as CEO effective April 1, 2020.
— Safaricom PLC (@SafaricomPLC) October 24, 2019
We are confident that Peter will carry on our vision of transforming lives, meeting our customers’ needs and holding us to our new commitment of being Simple, Transparent and Honest. pic.twitter.com/nkD4FTXoCM
He began his eleven-year career with global consulting firm PwC as a consultant, relocating to London, UK under the firm’s talent development programme in 1996.
In 1999, he transitioned from the Accountancy practice to the Consulting & Corporate Finance Unit at PwC.
After completing his MBA, Peter took on key assignments in corporate advisory and project management at leading European and American banks and insurance businesses.
He returned to Nairobi in 2002, where he worked on several significant corporate advisory assignments - providing strategic transaction advice, due diligence, valuation, financial planning and modelling, and significant project leadership and management - mostly in the financial services sector.
At EABL, his strategy was used to create Senator keg which has gone on to become one of Kenya’s and Diageo’s most iconic beer brands.
It has led to a strong partnership with the Kenyan government and created a viable entry-level beer which reduces the consumption of illicit brews, increases local raw material use and boosts job creation.
As a result, it was recently featured in the Harvard Business Review.
During his stint at EABL, he also led significant business development agendas including the acquisition of Serengeti Breweries Limited, a major subsidiary in Tanzania, and unwound a complex shareholding structure with SAB Miller (now ABI) in both Kenya and Tanzania.
He left EABL in October 2011, starting an eight-year sojourn away from home to Diageo subsidiaries Guinness Ghana Breweries plc and Guinness Nigeria plc both of which he led as CEO.
"His commitment to investing in people, introducing new brands and improving efficiency saw him grow both businesses despite the challenges they were facing," Safaricom wrote in his profile.
In Ghana, he led talks with the government leading to the introduction of an affordable beer in the country.
In Nigeria, he helped transform the business- at a time when the country was facing economic challenges due to declining oil prices.
"In his career spanning over 25 years, Ndegwa has demonstrated the commitment to simplification of business process and on leadership and talent development has helped create a sustainable business for the future," Safaricom said.