Peter Ndegwa : Beer Man Who Became First Indigenous Kenyan to Head Safaricom

Peter Ndegwa will today take over the role of the Safaricom CEO from Michael Joseph,  becoming the first indigenous Kenyan CEO of the giant telco.

Safaricom board of directors announced Ndegwa’s appointment on October 24 last year, with his term commencing on April 1, 2020.

Joseph has been the CEO in an acting capacity, following the death of Bob Collymore in August last year.

Mr Peter Ndegwa joins Safaricom from Diageo, a global leader in the alcoholic beverages business, where he is currently serving as Managing Director of Continental Europe.

Read:  Kenyans In High Spirits As Beer Man Takes Over Safaricom

In his current role, he oversees business operations in 50 countries in Western and Eastern Europe, as well as Russia, the Middle East and North Africa region. He was appointed to the role in July 2018, becoming the first African to run a large business for Diageo outside of Africa.

Prior to this Peter led two of Diageo’s biggest businesses on the continent, Guinness Ghana Breweries Plc and Guinness Nigeria Plc.

He began his eleven-year career with global consulting firm PwC as a consultant, relocating to London, UK under the firm’s talent development programme in 1996.

In 1999, he transitioned from the Accountancy practice to the Consulting & Corporate Finance Unit at PwC. After completing his MBA, Peter took on key assignments in corporate advisory and project management at leading European and American banks and insurance businesses.

Read: Safaricom Alternate Director Vivek Badrinath Resigns

He returned to Nairobi in 2002, where he worked on several significant corporate advisory assignments – providing strategic transaction advice, due diligence, valuation, financial planning and modelling, and significant project leadership and management – mostly in the financial services sector.

In 2004, Peter joined East African Breweries (EABL), a Diageo subsidiary based in Nairobi, as Strategy Director.

He left EABL in October 2011, starting an eight-year sojourn away from home to Diageo subsidiaries Guinness Ghana Breweries plc and Guinness Nigeria plc both of which he led as CEO.

He holds an MBA from the London Business School and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Nairobi. He is also a Certified Public Accountant and a member of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Kenya (ICPAK).

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