Jeremy Awori was the managing director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at Absa Bank Kenya.
Awori has established himself as one of the most reputable names in the finance sector, for his exploits in banking.
He is also among the highest paid CEOs in the country.
Background & Family
The ex-Absa CEO was born in Kenya in the early 1970s to a Kenyan father and a British mother. His father was an engineer by profession whereas his mother was a lawyer.
He has two siblings, a sister and a brother. The brother is mentally challenged, something Awori says gives him a different perspective of how he views life and several other aspects that people ignore.
As a young child he was very shy, and he resorted to swimming as a hobby. HE even represented Kenya competitively.
“I got into swimming at 7 years of age and at 9 years, I was swimming for Kenya. This transformed my life in the sense that it gave me confidence as I began winning,” Awori revealed in 2017.
Education
Awori is an alumnus of St Marys School in Nairobi.
He later attended the University of Manchester in the UK between 1989 and 1991 where he graduated from with a Bachelor of Science degree in Pharmacy.
In 1994 he joined McGill University in Canada and graduated in 1996 with an MBA in Finance and International Business.
Career
After graduating from the University of Mancherster, Awori first worked as a pharmacist in the UK before moving to study in Canada.
In 2003, he joined Standard Chartered Bank and served as the Head of Consumer Banking in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). He was General Manager of the retail banking franchise for the bank covering all retail and SME products across the country.
At the time the SCB UAE business was the largest foreign bank by profitability.
Between 2006 and December 2008, he worked for SCB as Regional Sales Director for the Middle East, South Asia and Africa. He was responsible for retail sales product sales across Standard Chartered’s franchise across 23 countries.
In December 2008 he was appointed the CEO of SCB Tanzani and served in the capacity until January 2013.
He joined Absa, then Barclays Bank in February 2013 and has served as CEO since then.
Awori also served as the Chairman of the Kenya Bankers Association between 2013 and 2014.
The ABSA CEO stepped down from his position pursue a new career opportunity after 10 years at the helm of the institution. His last working day will be on 31 October.
A statement from the board chair read:
The Board has already initiated the process of identifying a successor.
“Jeremy has been instrumental in driving significant growth and transformation of our business over the past decade and under his outstanding leadership, Absa Bank Kenya PLC has evolved into a modern-day business.”
Jeremy on his part said he was “….honored to have led Absa Kenya in making a difference in our society while achieving significant commercial milestones over the past decade.”
Salary
Awori is among the highest paid CEOs in the country. For the year ending December 2019, his earning were reported at Ksh101.1 million.
Breakdown of Mr. Awori’s pay:
Annual Salary Kes34.26 million (Ksh2.8 million per month
Pension and other benefits-Ksh29.8 million
Cash bonus award-Ksh24.6 million
Share value plan-Ksh12.4 million
Total-Ksh101.6 million
