• Safaricom on Thursday announced that it had appointed Peter Ndegwa as the new Chief Executive Officer.
• When Safaricom was born 19 years ago, Peter Ndegwa was working as a Valuation and Strategy department Manager at PricewaterhouseCoopers in London.
"My dear, you always tell me that there is no short cut to real and lasting success.....," these are the words of Jemimah Ndegwa, the wife of the newly appointed Safaricom CEO Peter Ndegwa.
Jemimah in a moving praise to her husband following the appointment said it was a proof of his hard-work, commitment and integrity pay off.
"I have experienced first-hand the long hours and your commitment to self and others to achieve great things. You have taken risks, going to challenging markets but the experience you have gained sets you apart," she wrote on her Facebook page.
She said her husband is a man of great integrity and that together with family know he will continue to uphold that which he believes in.
"I know just as has been the case, integrity and humility will continue to be your trademark in this new role. We your family will continue to support you and pray for you," she wrote.
She added, "For exaltation does not come from the East, West or South, but from God".
Image: COURTESY
Safaricom on Thursday announced that it had appointed Peter Ndegwa as the new Chief Executive Officer.
The Safaricom PLC Board of Directors in a statement on Thursday said Ndegwa's appointment will take effect from April 1, 2020.
Ndegwa joins Safaricom from Diageo PLC where he is the Managing Director of Diageo Continental Europe.
"Peter brings a wealth of experience 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 (FMCG) sectors in Africa and Europe," Safaricom said in a statement by Chairman Nicholas Ng'ang'a.
Ndegwa will take over from Michael Joseph who made a comeback in an acting capacity at the helm of East Africa's largest telco in July following the death of Bob Collymore.
Collymore, passed away in June after battling cancer. The late Collymore had himself took over from Joseph as Safaricom CEO in November 2010.
"We are confident that Peter will carry on our vision of transforming lives while keeping us focused on meeting our customers’ needs and holding us to our new commitment of being simple, transparent and honest," the statement from Safaricom read.
Safaricom is 35 per cent owned by South Africa’s Vodacom, the Kenya government has a 35 per cent stake, 25 per cent is traded at the Nairobi Securities Exchange while Vodafone Group has a five per cent stake.
The giant telco controls about 62% of Kenya’s mobile market with over 30 million subscribers.
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.