Michael Joseph steps down

david nganga

June 15, 2017 11:19 AM

The 71 year old has called it a day after serving at top leadership position in the corporate industry.

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Kenya Airways Chairman Michael Joseph has called it a day after serving at top leadership position in the corporate industry.

The one time Safaricom CEO, is set to step down as Vodafone’s director of mobile money at the end of September this year.

Mr. Joseph has notified the UK telecommunications giant of his intentions to quit the position from the firm that owns 40 per cent shares of Safaricom.

Speaking to a local daily, Mr. Joseph said that he plans to relinquish his position from Vodafone and its companies so as to fully concentrate on his duties at KQ.

Besides quitting the role of Director of mobile money, the 71 year old will also surrender his non-executive director positions at Vodafone’s African subsidiaries — Vodacom Mozambique, Vodacom Tanzania and Vodacom Group South Africa.

Mr. Joseph was appointed Vodafone’s director of mobile money in 2011, as the British firm sought to replicate M-Pesa’s success in Kenya in other countries where it was being rolled out.

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He left his position as Safaricom CEO in November 2011 after more than a decade at the helm of the Telecommunications Company though he still serves as a director.

Vodafone then tapped him to head its global mobile money business including expanding it to countries such as Denmark, Albania, Ghana and India.

His departure comes at a time when the British firm is selling its 35 per cent stake in Safaricom to its South African subsidiary Vodacom, paving the way for M-Pesa’s expansion in Africa.

M-Pesa is currently rolled out in 10 countries that include Kenya, Ghana, Albania, DRC, India, Moazmbique, Egypt, Rwanda, Tanzania and Romania.

david nganga