Peter Ndegwa: On Exiting As Safaricom CEO As New Chair Steps In

Safaricom CEO Peter Ndegwa has addressed claims that he is set to exit the top telecommunication company.

In an interview on Citizen TV on Thursday, January 26, the CEO acknowledged the claims, however, dismissing them as speculations.

Speculations on social media had indicated that Ndegwa would be shown the door following the election of Adil Khawaja as the new Safaricom Board Chairman.

Addressing the same, Ndegwa said the decision about his job and the future of Safaricom is made by the company’s Board.

“There is social media speculation, you know when you run a business of the size of Safaricom, just like a football team, there will always be views about what is happening to the manager, the captain and so on

“…from where I stand, the decisions about my role are usually for the board, and now that we have a new Chairman I’m sure it is a question that can be asked both to the Board and the Chairman,” he said.

However, Ndegwa insisted that he has had a successful three years having taken over during the COVID-19 pandemic period.

“What I do know is that I’ve had a vey successful three years; I came in at a time when this country was faced with COVID, we’re a company that has served the country, kept the country connected, and now we’re converting ourselves into a purpose-led technology company,” he added.

Ndegwa was appointed Safaricom CEO in April 2020.

He replaced Bob Collymore who died of cancer in July 2019.

Ndegwa joined the telco from Diageo PLC where he is the Managing Director of Diageo Continental Europe.

Prior to joining Diageo, he served eight years across a range of senior Executive Director roles at EABL, a Diageo subsidiary, based in Nairobi.

He served as the Group Chief Finance Officer (CFO), Group Strategy Director, Sales Director, and as an Executive Director on the EABL Board.

Ndegwa was also part of the team that saw EABL double in value and winning the coveted Most Respected Business Award in East Africa for five years in a row.

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).