Safaricom appoints as Board Chair John Ngumi to replace Michael Joseph

Telecommunications service provider Safaricom Plc has unveiled a new chairman to take over from outgoing Michael Joseph who has held the post since August 2020.

John Ngumi has served as the previous Chairperson of the Kenya Pipeline Corporation (KPC) board as well as an inaugural director on the board of the Communications Commission of Kenya and currently chairs the board of the Industrial and Commercial Development Corporation (ICDC).

“Mr. Ngumi currently serves as Board Chair at the Industrial & Commercial Development Corporation (ICDC), which is leading the effort to implement the Kenya Transport and Logistics Network, encompassing Kenya Ports Authority, Kenya Pipeline Company Limited and Kenya Railways Corporation. He also serves on the board of Kenya Airways PLC.” a notice from Safaricom to shareholders read.

The change at the board has also seen the resignation of board secretary Mdlalose Sitholizwe.

Ngumi will be filling the shoes of the founding Safaricom Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Michael Joseph who has been at the leadership of the company for more than two decades.

Michael Joseph also serves as the board chairman for Kenya Airways

Incoming Safaricom Plc Chairperson John Ngumi Incoming Safaricom Plc Chairperson John Ngumi Pulse Live Kenya

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John Ngumi career profile

A first class graduate of the Oxford University, Ngumi boasts of a career spanning over three decades in the finance sector.

He started off his career in 1979 at the National Westminister Bank in London where he served for three years before returning to Kenya and since then he has been in the finance circles cracking multi-billion deals for corporates and even governments.

Other notable institutions Ngumi has worked for include Grindlays Bank now Stanbic Bank, Citibank, Barclays Bank and Standard Bank.

Ngumi was a Co-lead arranger for Kenya’s first sovereign Eurobond issue, for US$ 2.8 billion