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Acting Safaricom CEO Michael Joseph has come out to defend the appointment of Kenyan Peter Ndegwa as the new head of the giant telecommunications company.
Ndegwa, the Diageo Continental Europe Managing Director was named the new Safaricom CEO on Friday to replace former CEO Bob Collymore, who succumbed to cancer in July this year.
A section of Kenyans- online and offline -expressed their doubts on Ndegwa’s ability to lead the country’s most profitable company.
Most of them expressed fears that he would be susceptible to political interference, forcing him to play the tribal card while running Safaricom.
In an interview with K24, interim Safaricom CEO Joseph faulted Kenyans for viewing every appointment from a tribal angle and dismissed the pessimism surrounding Ndegwa’s appointment.
“Many people talk. It is unfortunate for Kenya that we always look at the tribal affiliation of somebody [hired to lead a multi-national corporation]. [They debate whether] he would be influenced politically or not. I think it is very unfortunate that that is the trademark of Kenyans in general,” said Joseph.
“I think Ndegwa won’t be influenced by Kenya’s politics. I think it was time Safaricom, as a Kenyan company, hired a native as its CEO. It was unfortunate that we did not choose somebody internally at this point. However, we will at some point [in the future],” added Joseph.
Joseph exuded confidence that Ndegwa is the right person to take Safaricom to the next level owing to his vast experience in corporate management.
“I don’t believe in that stuff [that a Kenyan CEO would run down Safaricom]. I think the Kenyan we have [Ndegwa] has the necessary integrity and maturity to do the right thing for Safaricom as a company, its shareholders, and Kenya in general.”
“I think it is the right move politically and professionally to have a Kenyan at the helm of Safaricom,” Joseph insisted.
Joseph, who is the founding CEO of Safaricom, said it took the company’s board two years to identify Ndegwa as a replacement of Collymore.
“The challenge that we had was to get a Kenyan with all the necessary qualifications and experience in our field to run Safaricom. Where is that Kenyan? The pool is not that large. We had to expand [the scope of our] search. So, we had to choose somebody with mobile experience or telecommunications experience, and that is what we have done,” said Joseph.
“Ndegwa’s appointment has like-for-like similarities to how Bob Collymore was picked for the job. It took the Safaricom Board of Directors two years to settle on Bob.”
“There was a lot of deliberation whether Bob could do the job… He also did not have all these requisite qualifications to be CEO… You know, one of the downsides of Bob is that he had never run a big corporation… It took two years to find him, he came in and grew into the job; wonderfully grew into the job, and took the company to a whole new level,” said Joseph.
“I expect Peter would do the same; it will take him some time to settle in, it will take him some time to understand the DNA of the company, [but once he does, he will steer the company to greater levels of success]. My expectation is that it will take him three to six months to settle in. I will be here to guide and help him.”
He continued: “People know me… I am not an easy person; I expect him to deliver.”
Ndegwa’s appointment takes effect on April 1st, 2020.
Comments
@Guest your way of thinking just proves your ignorance.Reminds me of some time back when some people used to be told Kikuyus get free gov money from the wall (ATM)
And useless people keep up late at night on hateration , generalization, sterotyping, consumed with jealousy,etc ... what a waste of human brain - I thought you should know - tiga wana!
Good luck.Kenyans, and the world,have eyes on you. Prove them wrong by outshining your predecessors!
The 2 paras down here make me wonder.....looks like it's easier to give a 'LESS QUALIFIED FOREIGNER" a chance and GROOM them. A Kenyan has to PROVE themselves with "...necessary qualifications and experience in our field..."
Muthungu ni muthungu, this is the same scenario majuu for a black to get a position ...BUT SURELY, even when in my own country???? God have mercy.....muthungu ni ngai yagitheba..
“There was a lot of deliberation whether Bob could do the job… He also did not have all these requisite qualifications to be CEO… You know, one of the downsides of Bob is that he had never run a big corporation… It took two years to find him, he came in and grew into the job; wonderfully grew into the job, and took the company to a whole new level,” said Joseph.
“The challenge that we had was to get a Kenyan with all the necessary qualifications and experience in our field to run Safaricom. Where is that Kenyan? The pool is not that large. We had to expand [the scope of our] search. So, we had to choose somebody with mobile experience or telecommunications experience, and that is what we have done,” said Joseph.
I believe Ndegwa is ours.Lets meet in 2022 general election. you will know you know not.
Tiga wana, alaah. We must remain to rule.
Kikuyu women kill white men with the help of kikuyu men.
Just thought you should know.