#5
CFO & FINANCE DIRECTOR
KENYA & AFRICA, STANDARD CHARTERED
Chemutai Murgor is a formidable force in finance, exemplifying leadership, resilience, and strategic acumen.
As Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Finance Director for Kenya and Africa at Standard Chartered, Chemutai’s two-decade journey in the financial sector is a testament to her dedication, growth, and excellence.
Her career began at Deloitte, where she spent nine years working both in Kenya and the UK, ultimately leaving as a senior manager. Managing a portfolio of clients across various sectors, particularly listed entities, this phase honed her skills in problem-solving, critical thinking, communication, and technical accounting expertise.
In 2001, Chemutai joined Standard Chartered as Head of Business Finance, where she oversaw the Financial Planning and Analysis unit, aligning business strategy with goals. She soon transitioned to the Controllership function, managing financial and regulatory reporting, risk management, tax compliance, and capital management. Her outstanding performance led to her promotion as Finance Director and CFO for Kenya in 2007, and later, as Cluster CFO for East Africa in 2011. In 2024, her responsibilities expanded to include oversight of Africa, making her one of the longest-serving CFOs of a listed entity in Kenya. She also sits on the board of Standard Chartered Kenya and its subsidiaries.
Chemutai’s management style is both facilitative and challenging, fostering a collaborative environment that empowers her team. Her passion for banking stems from its dynamic nature, which requires anticipating market impacts, risks, and opportunities, as well as the sector’s critical role in economic development. This dynamic environment keeps her deeply engaged in her role.
Chemutai has witnessed significant transformations in the finance function, emphasising people, processes, and performance, driven by changing demands and technological advancements. She believes CFOs are pivotal in shaping business strategy, managing risks, and driving sustainable growth. Excited about the evolving role of CFOs, particularly in sustainability reporting and compliance, she challenges her peers to embed sustainability into company strategy, ensuring long-term shareholder value creation.
Beyond her professional achievements, Chemutai is dedicated to governance and leadership, holding several board positions in the public and INGO sectors. She serves on the board of the Kenya Chapter of Women Corporate Directors (WCD), the world’s largest membership organisation of women corporate directors. Additionally, she has served on the Audit, Finance, and Risk Committee of the CGIAR System Management Board and was a trustee of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) Management Advisory Board, Africa. She also served on the inaugural board of the Insurance Regulatory Authority of Kenya (IRA).
Chemutai is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (FCA) and the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (FCIMA), and she is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA-K) with the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Kenya. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce (BCom) degree in Accounting and Finance from the University of Nairobi (UoN) and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from Warwick Business School.
Committed to lifelong learning, she has attended executive education programs at Harvard Business School, including the Women’s Leadership Forum and the Audit Committees in a New Era of Governance program. Recently, she completed the Competent Boards ESG and Climate and Biodiversity Designation Programs, underscoring her commitment to sustainability and ESG literacy.
Chemutai’s personal interests reflect her love for growth. She enjoys reading biographies and management books for inspiration and is an amateur antique collector. Balancing her professional and personal life, Chemutai is married to Dr. Julius Kipng’etich, Group CEO at Jubilee Holdings, and they are blessed with two daughters. The family enjoys dedicated family time together.
Chemutai believes success should align with personal values and virtues. At Standard Chartered, the culture of doing the right thing and never settling for less aligns perfectly with her drive for continuous excellence.
