#15

Dr Nelson Kuria, OGW, F.IoD

BOARD CHAIR – CIC GROUP

The values I internalised throughout my humble upbringing in a Christian environment, coupled with my educational background and life experiences, have immensely contributed to my career and character as a leader.

As staunch Christians, my parents taught me the values of humility, honesty, hard-work and respect for other people, irrespective of their social status. In high school especially, I was taught by the American Christian Brothers, a congregation devoted to a lifetime of serving mankind through education, with minimal pay only to meet their basic needs.

In my life and career, I have been greatly inspired by a quote from Dr Martin Luther King Jr. It says, “Use me God. Show me how to take who I am, who I want to be and what I can do, and use it for a purpose greater than myself.” To me, this means that success is determined by service to others, and we achieve it when we shift our focus from success to service. As a leader, I believe that I am called to serve God and humanity through the organisations and positions that I hold, and that such positions are a privilege and not an entitlement.

I hold a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in Economics from the University of Nairobi (UoN), and a Master of Arts (MA) in Leadership Studies from the International Leadership University (ILU) based in Nairobi.

Over the years, I have attended many training courses and seminars both locally and internationally in management, leadership and governance, at leading institutions including the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), Eastern and Southern African Management Institute (ESAMI) and Stanford Graduate School of Business.

I believe in life-long learning, and that good leaders are good learners. I have therefore accumulated a library of many books and journals from leading authors in management, leadership and governance: dynamic fields that behove every good leader to be proactively up-to-date, ensuring effectiveness.

I worked for 36 years in the financial services sector, mainly in development finance and insurance, before retiring in February 2015.

I started my career in August 1979, at Industrial & Commercial Development Corporation (ICDC) as a Projects Officer (Economist). My time at ICDC mainly surrounded the great cause of Africanising industry and commerce, a very exciting venture. I had the opportunity to work in multi-disciplinary teams of engineers, financial analysts and economists. I was able to develop the strategic, big-picture point of view of organisations, and I learned to appreciate team dynamics: work and leadership. 

I then joined the insurance industry in September 1982, beginning at the Kenya National Assurance Company (KNAC), as Assistant Manager in Market Research. I rapidly rose through the ranks to become Chief Manager of the General Insurance Division in 1992, the largest division in the company. As Chief Manager, I was responsible for five senior managers and over 150 staff members. The training and exposure I attained at KNAC, which at the time was the largest insurance company in the East and Central African region, instilled in me a solid foundation in all aspects of insurance operations.

The crowning moment of my insurance career was actualised at The Co-operative Insurance Company of Kenya, now CIC Insurance Group. I joined the firm in 1998 as Chief Manager in charge of Strategy and Business Development, and rose to become Managing Director (MD) in 2001 and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) in 2011.

I was privileged to lead the transformation of CIC from a very small insurance co-operative to the third largest insurer, out of 48 insurance companies in Kenya, with three local subsidiaries (CIC Life, CIC General and CIC Asset Management).

From a continental perspective, CIC Group was the leading insurance co-operative with three regional subsidiaries in South Sudan, Uganda and Malawi, by the time I retired in 2015.

It is said that leaders are the agents of change. According to John Kotter’s Eight Step Framework of Leading Change, a transformative leader is one who: identifies the needed change; creates a vision to guide and transform the organisation; inspires and challenges followers; engages followers in driving the change; develops the followers into leaders; and achieves levels of performance beyond expectations. This is how we transformed CIC Group.

By embracing values that formed the insurer’s new culture, that is, an entrepreneurial approach in  business, stewardship, good governance and integrity, we developed the tag line which encapsulates the Group’s value proposition: ‘We Keep Our Word’.

 I was captivated by the cooperative spirit I experienced at CIC, which has become part of my DNA. I have developed a great passion for co-operatives, and have contributed to the development of the movement both locally and internationally.

Between 2011 and 2014, I served as a Facilitator and Member of three United Nations (UN) Expert Group Meetings on co-operative development. Most recently in 2022, I served as Chair of the National Co-operative Policy Operationalisation Task Force, charged with the responsibility of developing a new co-operative law and institutional framework in Kenya. I am a regular and sought-after speaker in local, regional and international co-operative forums.

In addition, I have had the privilege of serving as Chair of the Association of Kenya Insurers (AKI) and Enwealth Financial Services, and Vice Chair of the following organisations: Federation of Kenya Employers (FKE), Association of Microfinance Institutions of Kenya (AMFI), and The Co-operative University of Kenya (CUK). I have served as a Board Member of numerous local and international institutions including Kenya Reinsurance Corporation (Kenya Re), Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH), International Co-operative & Mutual Insurance Federation (ICMIF) in the UK, among others. I also had the honour of being the first Chair of the African Insurance Organization (AIO) Microinsurance Working Group.

In Church, I have served as a Deacon and Church Secretary of Christ Is The Answer Ministries (CITAM).

In recognition of my service, I have been honoured with two awards by the President of Kenya for the contribution towards co-operative and insurance development: Order of the Grand Warrior (OGW) in 2005, and Moran of the Order of the Burning Spear (MBS) in 2011.

Within the insurance industry, I was honoured with the Life Time Achievement Award in 2012. In 2017, I was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Leadership by the Swiss Management Academy, and in 2019, I earned the award of Fellow Member of the Institute of Directors of Kenya (IoDK) for the contribution in the development of corporate governance in Kenya.

After nearly six years in retirement, in September 2020, I was invited back to CIC Group as an Independent Non–Executive Director. In June 2021, I was appointed Chair of the CIC Group Board.

I am very happy to be back at CIC, and to have another opportunity, this time by supporting management through the Board, to help steer the Group to higher levels in the market. It is rare that one is afforded the chance to serve an organisation twice in a lifetime, and I am truly grateful to God.

The CIC Group has a great team of leaders under the new CEO, and I am leading an equally excellent board of directors. I have no doubt in my mind that the future of CIC, in terms of performance, will be exciting. Watch this space!

Even in this season of retirement, which I instead prefer to call ‘refirement’, I have continued to be engaged and active in playing an advisory role in various organisations, as well as giving back to society. Currently, I chair the boards of SMEP Microfinance Bank; Kenya National Entrepreneurs Savings Trust; Governing Council of Africa International University; and Institute of Directors of Kenya (IoDK). I am also a Trustee of CITAM.

Beyond board engagements, once in a while I am invited to facilitate and share my experience in workshops and seminars along the topics of governance, leadership and retirement planning. I have facilitated for the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Kenya  (ICPAK), Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA), Centre for Corporate Governance (CCG), SACCO Societies Regulatory Authority (SASRA) and IoDK. This is besides mentoring many upcoming leaders, which I do on a pro bono basis.

In conclusion, I believe that as a leader, I am a steward of people and their welfare, therefore, what I do affects the lives of those I lead, and many others who depend on them. People are the most important resource and are at the heart of organisational success and sustainability. Organisations don’t create value, people create value. Towards this end, I often reflect on a certain Chinese proverb that captures the importance of people succinctly, ‘If you want one year of prosperity, grow grain. If you want 10 years of prosperity, grow trees. If you want 100 years of prosperity, grow people.’