Companies
Safaricom shakes up top management
Wednesday February 01 2023
Safaricom has made a number of changes in its top management coming hot on the heels of the election of new board chairman Adil Khawaja.
In the new appointments announced by CEO Peter Ndegwayesterday, KCB Corporate Banking director Esther Masese has been named chief financial services officer effective February 21 and will be tasked with providing strategic leadership and oversight to the telco’s financial services business.
Prior to joining KCB, Ms Masese had a 10-year stint at Stanbic bank having joined the lender in 2011 as the East African head of transactional products and services.
She has also previously worked at Stanchart and at Commercial Bank of Africa (which merged with NIC Bank to form NCBA).
Also read: Safaricom to lose Sh2bn in call tariff cut
“She holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the University of East Africa, Baraton and a Master of Business Administration from University of Liverpool, UK,” said Safaricom.
Masese replaces Boniface Mungania who has been holding the position in acting capacity since July last year.
Mungania has in turn been appointed Director of Public Sector Digital Transformation with effect from April 1, tasked with developing partnerships within the public space and driving digital transformation for both the National and County governments.
“In this role, he will collaborate with key functional owners including Enterprise, Financial Services, Technology and Business Development to deliver solutions in an agile way,” the telco said.
Meanwhile, Diageo South Africa Marketing head Zizwe Awuor Vundla has been tapped as Director of Brand and Marketing effective yesterday (Wednesday).
Reporting to the CEO, Ms Vundla will be responsible for providing strategic market and product leadership to the overall Safaricom brand which includes M-Pesa, Safaricom Business and the telco’s foundations.
Before joining Diageo, Vundla worked at American multinational consumer goods corporation Proctor and Gamble for 15 years having joined as an assistant Brand Manager in 2004 and rising through the ranks to become Head of Marketing for the South African office.
Read: Mystery investor’s purchase of Safaricom shares stops plunge
She holds a Bachelor of Business Degree from the University of Cape Town.
The appointments come just a week after Safaricom named lawyer Adil Khawaja as its new board chairman following the exit of retired President Uhuru Kenyatta’s ally John Ngumi.
