In 2024, Kenya Airways recorded a KSh 5.4 billion profit after tax, its first annual profit in over a decade and the highest in the company’s history. This milestone symbolized the culmination of disciplined restructuring, cost optimization, and commercial reorientation.
When Gitogo returned to Britam in 2022, the business was steady but not firing on all cylinders. “We had the fundamentals; a good brand, solid teams, loyal customers, but the energy needed refocusing,” he said in a recent interview. Two years later, Britam reported KSh 7.3 billion in profit for 2024, its strongest performance in years. The turnaround came from disciplined execution: tightening operations, improving returns from investments, and aligning the regional businesses around a shared strategy.
For Oigara, East Africa’s next frontier is competitiveness, not survival. He believes the region’s growth story must be anchored in human capital, sustainable finance and regional integration. “The next decade will test our creativity as much as our courage,” he reflects. “But those who transform readiness into advantage will define Africa’s future.
Having been previously recognised by this publication as one of the Top 60 most transformative CEOs impacting the economy and among the Top 25 most transformative leaders impacting business in Kenya, Cris is a business leader of many firsts. Most notably, he is the first Kenyan at the helm of the Company’s operations since it commenced operations in Kenya 118 years ago.
A defining feature of Ratemo's leadership is her commitment to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) principles. She has placed ESG at the core of KDC's strategy and operations, ensuring that every investment promotes sustainability, ethical governance, and positive social outcomes.
He is also a strong advocate for Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) principles in an area that has become integral to Old Mutual East Africa’s operational agenda. Under his guidance, and in alignment with the group’s broader sustainability strategy, the organisation has implemented initiatives that promote financial inclusion and literacy within the communities it serves.
Under her leadership, Kenya’s Cabinet Office has become a model for digital governance in Africa. She oversaw the country’s first-ever paperless Cabinet meeting in 2023 and continues to champion the secure digitisation of Cabinet processes. These innovations are now being studied by other African governments seeking to strengthen coordination and accountability at the highest levels of the executive.
John’s demeanour, succession management and leadership style continues to inspire staff, customers, and stakeholders alike. Among his notable initiatives is the appointment of high calibre Executives and Subsidiary CEOs, freeing him to spend more quality time contemplating and modelling strategic growth opportunities across the region at Group level.
On affordability, “Quality comes with a price,” he acknowledges. But he also emphasizes that quality provides extraordinary value: consistency, safety, and outcomes that meet global benchmarks. Building capacity for Kenya and the larger East Africa region, is one strategic pillar that defines Rashid Khalani’s leadership. The CEO firmly believes that world-class hospitals are not built primarily on infrastructure, but on people.
One of Ndegwa’s most noteworthy achievements has been leading Safaricom PLC’s successful expansion into Ethiopia in 2022, marking a historic step for the company as it ventured into one of Africa’s largest untapped telco markets.
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