For years now, telco giant Safaricom PLC has stood out as one of the best employers in the country, owing to its attractive compensation, positive work environment and employee satisfaction.
Another commendable aspect of the company is its transparency in disclosing executive remuneration details that other firms often conceal. In fact its annual report for the fiscal year ending March 2024 includes the number of shares held by top executives and their salaries.
The report reveals that Group CEO Peter Ndegwa is the highest-paid, with several additional benefits. Below is a list of the top-paid Safaricom directors and their shareholdings.
Peter Ndegwa
For the year ending March 2024, the CEO’s salary was KShs 94.3 million, with additional benefits including a bonus of KShs 134.1 million and non-cash benefits worth KShs 23.9 million.
Additionally, his shares, valued at Kshs 107.41 million based on the current share price of KShs 17.30, increased from 895,500 in 2023 to 6,208,543 in 2024.
Peter Ndegwa, who joined Safaricom from Diageo where he was the Managing Director of Continental Europe, began his tenure as Safaricom’s CEO in 2021. During his first year, he earned a monthly salary of KShs16.79 million, totaling Kshs102.3 million in basic pay for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2021.
In addition, he received a bonus of KShs 50 million and Kshs 2 million in non-cash benefits. With an MBA from London Business School and a degree in Economics from the University of Nairobi, the CEO is also a Certified Public Accountant and a member of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Kenya (ICPAK).
Dilip Pal
Dilip Pal, Safaricom’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO), earned KShs 58.9 million in salary during the review period. Additionally, he received a bonus of KShs 35.1 million and non-cash benefits amounting to Kshs 19.8 million. His shares, totaling 1,342,105, were valued at Kshs 23.41 million.
Pal became Safaricom’s Chief Financial Officer in November 2020, after serving as CFO at DTAC Thailand, a subsidiary of the Telenor Group, since 2017. His extensive experience includes senior finance roles at Grameenphone Bangladesh, Vodafone India, Hutchison Essar, Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages, and Tata Tinplate.
He has a Master’s degree in Commerce from Calcutta University and a Bachelor’s degree in Commerce from Goenka College of Commerce.
Karen Kandie
Karen Kandie is the company’s chairperson of the Risk, Environmental, Social, and Governance Committee, and she received KShs 5.8 million in director’s fees and Kshs 200,000 in non-cash benefits as per the report.
Her shareholding also rose to 235,800 shares, valued at Sh4.08 million, in 2024, up from 147,300 shares, worth Sh2.5 million, in 2023.
Kandie holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Nairobi and a Master of Business Administration from Murdoch University in Western Australia.
Winnie Ouko
Winnie Ouko, a member of the Safaricom board audit committee, earned KShs8.7 million in director’s fees and Kshs 300,000 in non-cash benefits in 2024. Her shareholding of 101,831 shares, valued at Kshs 1.76 million, remained unchanged since 2023.
Ouko was appointed as a Non-Executive Director on February 10, 2021.
She is the founder and CEO of Lattice Consulting, a Kenya-based boutique advisory firm affiliated with Larive International in the Netherlands.
Rose Ogega
Rose Ogega, the chairperson of the audit committee, earned Kshs 24.1 million in director’s fees and Kshs 800,000 in non-cash benefits. She holds 2,000 shares in Safaricom, valued at Kshs 34,000.
