- In fact, at some point in the 80s when there was a biting teachers’ strike, the old man had offered pay them Sh48 million they were demanding from the state to resume work.
Being in the same womb is no guarantee of having same fate in destiny, However, twins ... but this old adage does not seem to apply for Nicholas and Timothy Mudasia have defied this...., born twins 40 years ago.
Born 40 years ago in a large family of renown Western Kenya businessman Ibrahim Ambwere, the duo have turned out to be high achievers, rising to be corporate titans in their own rights and climbing to highest pinnacle of education.
Born and bred in Chavakali, Vihiga county, the duo went to Vihiga High School, starting an academic journey that they say has paved their way to life success.
The media-shy brothers have lately been subjects of media conversation focusing the success of their father, with speculation over how their father's success that may have influenced their own successes and whether they have political ambitions.
In a past interview, their father reportedly described himself as a successful businessman whose litany of properties is spread in major towns in the westerns part of the country.
In fact, at some point in the 80s when there was a biting teachers’ strike, the old man had offered to pay them the Sh48 million they were demanding from the state to resume work.
“That was a lot of money in the 80s, but I had it and I was willing to bail them out,” he told a media outlet in an article published in 2018.
When reached by the Star, the two brothers made clear their dislike for publicity and media attention, explaining that this informed their decision not to use their popular father’s name in their public identity.
Each says though their parents ensured they had a comfortable life growing up, they experienced the normal struggles of childhood and that it took their hard work and discipline to see them climb the ladder of success.
“Our parents were rigorous in our upbringing, ensuring we had discipline, lived well with people, had our hands committed in serving the community and people in church,” Nicholas said.
“It is what has seen me grow to be an industrious, self-driven and results oriented Human Resource, Administration, Public Affairs and Communications professional.”
He has over 15 years’ experience in corporate governance, saying he has a record of transforming organisations at strategic leadership level across Africa, United Kingdom and Israel.
He has overseen corporates at country and multi-country level across manufacturing, FMCG, banking, telecommunication, hospitality, agriculture & the NGO sectors.
Nicholas, is the Chief Human Resource, Public Affairs and Communications Officer at Coca-Cola Africa.
He has previously served in other strategic capacities including being the Group HR and Administration Head for East Africa at Plascon East Africa, overseeing eight countries. HR director for East Africa region at the Danish Brewing Company – Carlsberg, overseeing four countries.
Other jobs he has had include group head of HR at Balton CP, overseeing 10 countries, HR manager at GT Bank covering four countries. He has also worked at MNT Group, KQ, Java house and Nairobi Serena hotel among others.
He holds an MBA on strategic management, a post graduate diploma on HR and a HR degree from Makerere University in Uganda.
Asked about his ambitions, the father of one said he is not cut for politics but sees himself grow to be among the captains of industry.
“I interface with top CEOs and industry leaders, and that is where I see myself going to in the coming years. I have amassed enough experience to be able to head an established company and see its business attain its objectives,” he said.
How does the highflying business executive spend his time?
“[I have] an eye for community service where I support numerous church activities and take care of senior citizens and the under privileged. I am more of an introvert and enjoy a movie or reading,” he said.
For Timothy, he moved to Australia after a brief work in Kenya, settling in country that later gave him citizenship.
He said he is the most out going compared to his brother, and currently works as an advisor to the Victoria state government, specifically in managing its emergency and pension fund knowns as the Emergency Services and State Super Pension Fund.
In this job, he said, he “promotes financial education and literacy to state government employees across numerous departments, including emergency services police, ambulance and fire rescue. Focusing on insurance and retirement planning.”
He has also worked as a consultant for wealth management entity AMP Wealth, particularly focusing on issuance of compliant advice to membership on wealth products and services.
He said he has also worked as associate in business retention for National Australia Bank and MLC Insurance. Part of his work here was utilising business intelligence and analytics in acquiring and retaining insurance policy holders with education programmes on sustainable risk management and protection.
The father of two says he likes spending time with his young family as well as catching up with friends from across Africa exploring new ideas.
“On Sundays you will mostly find me at Life Melbourne where I volunteer as a team leader for safety and risk management."
He said the church has a robust community service and outreach initiatives that he has become part of to bring cheer to the underprivileged.