#19

Carole Kariuki, EBS

BOARD VICE CHAIR – PRESIDENTIAL TASKFORCE, POLICE & PRISON SERVICES REFORMS

Ms Carole Kariuki, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA), describes herself as a highly motivated, passionate, astute, modest, and innovative individual: all perfect attributes for a forward-thinking and steadfast leader. It is no wonder that on 21st December 2022, she was appointed Vice Chair of the Presidential Task Force on Police and Prison Services Reforms by HE the President William Ruto.

The Taskforce, which comprises of 20 members and is chaired by retired Chief Justice (CJ) David Maraga, is responsible for the review of the human capital management and development policies, with a view of examining and reviewing standards and practices in recruitment, deployment, transfers, training, career progression, performance-based and competitive promotions, reward, exit and post-exit management.

It is tasked with the identification of legal, policy, administrative, institutional and operational constraints on effective service delivery by the Kenya Police Service and Kenya Prisons Service, and also the review and recommendation towards improvement of their terms and conditions. Carole’s knowledge of economic and social affairs must have informed this appointment. 

Ms Kariuki is also Board Chair of LPC Global Logistics and serves as an independent non-executive Member of various boards including those of East African Cables PLC; The Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE); Jubilee Health Insurance; United States International University-Africa (USIU-A) Trustees; Give Directly (USA) and the United Nations (UN) Global Compact Network in Kenya. She is also a Council Member of The National Council of Administrative Justice (NCAJ).

Previously, Carole served as Chair of the Kenya Vision 2030 Delivery Board, Chair of the Special Economic Zones Authority (SEZA) Board, President of the East Africa Chapter, Choiseul Africa in France, and as Board Member of a number of institutions such as Internet Solutions (IS) Kenya; Harvard University Centre for African Studies-Africa Advisory Board in the United States of America (USA); Business Advocacy Fund (BAF) at the Danish Embassy; The Centre for Corporate Governance; Nairobi Centre for International Arbitration; Emerging .Leaders Foundation and Nairobi Innovation Lab (Nailab 3.0), among others.

Ms Kariuki attended the prestigious University of Nairobi (UoN), graduating with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in Economics and Sociology. She then obtained a Master’s degree in Public Administration and International Affairs from Bowling Green State University, Ohio, USA.

After her studies, Carole worked briefly for Absa Bank Kenya (previously Barclays Bank of Kenya). She then joined Sagamore Institute for Public Policy Research, Indianapolis – Indiana (USA), where she acted as a liaison between KEPSA and the Institute before formally joining KEPSA. She worked for several years at KEPSA before being appointed the entity’s CEO.

The transformation of KEPSA from a little-known business institution to one of the most influential institutions, both locally and internationally, is ascribed to Carole’s outstanding and visionary leadership.

Due to her renowned position as  a thought-leader, Carole is a regular high level member of presidential trade and industry delegations to various global capitals lobbying for Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) to Kenya and removal of Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs) that hinder both bilateral and multilateral trade. These delegations have positive impacts on improving the economy of the country, and increasing the export of Kenyan products, in addition to promoting international travel. The latest of such a delegation was to Germany.

As a result, Ms Kariuki has been decorated with several awards for her role in the development of the private sector, as well as her aforementioned leadership qualities. For example, in 2011 she was awarded with the Heads of State Commendation (HSC), and in 2012, the Moran of the Order of the Burning Spear (MBS), both by the President Mwai Kibaki; in 2021 she was awarded the Elder of the Order of the Burning Spear (EBS) by President Uhuru Kenyatta. She has also been celebrated as one of the Top 100 Women CEOs in Africa by Reset Global People in partnership with Pulse magazine. In addition, Carole has been celebrated by Business Monthly East Africa three years in a row, as one of the Top 25 Most Influential CEOs Impacting Business, as well as among the Top 25 Most Impactful Chairs of Boards, in 2020, 2021 and 2022.