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Isaac Awuondo
CHAIR OF BOARD NCBA BANK KENYA PLC
Isaac Awuondo is Chair of the Board of NCBA Bank Kenya, a result of the merger between Commercial Bank of Africa Limited and NIC Group PLC which took effect on 1st October 2019. NCBA Bank is the 4th largest bank in Kenya.
Prior to becoming Chair of Board, Isaac was Group Managing Director at Commercial Bank of Africa Limited (“CBA Group”), then the largest privately held commercial bank in Kenya with a regional focus and operations in Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda and Ivory Coast for over 20 years. CBA Bank was one of the strongest and ethically managed commercial banks’ offering a comprehensive range of banking services, including Mobile and Digitally enabled financial solutions.
Until the merger with NIC Group, CBA Bank was the market leader in the provision of Mobile Savings and Lending solutions, in partnership with Safaricom (in Kenya), Vodacom (in Tanzania) and MTN (in Uganda, Rwanda and Ivory Coast).
NCBA Bank Kenya presently serves in excess of 30 million customers in Kenya with the Group customer reach in excess of 50 million in its five main markets.
Prior to joining NCBA Group over 27 years ago, Isaac was Chief Financial Officer and Executive Director at Standard Chartered Bank, with operations in Kenya and the East Africa region for over 8 years.
Isaac graduated from the University of Nairobi in 1980 with a Bachelor of Commerce degree in accounting and finance. He trained at BDO Binder Hamlyn in London qualifying as a chartered accountant in 1984. On his return to Kenya, he worked with the firm of Githongo and Company (a BDO affiliate) as an Audit Manager in 1985. In 1986 he was appointed Group Auditor of Nation Printers and Publishers Limited (now the Nation Media Group) and eventually became the Group Financial Controller and Company Secretary.
Isaac is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) and the Kenya Institute of Management (FKIM) and member of the Institute of Certified Public Accounts of Kenya (ICPAK) and Corporate Finance practitioner of the ICAEW.Isaac sits on the Board of several public and private organisations, including Kenya Airports Authority (Chairman), Bata Shoes Company Kenya Limited, Aidspan (Chairman), Riara University (Chairman of Council), Sandstorm Africa and Art Caffe. Through his involvement in charitable and philanthropic activities, he is Chairman of the Kenya Conservatoire of Music, University of Nairobi Alumni Association and WWF Kenya and Trustee of the Zawadi Africa Education Fund, an educational charity which provides scholarship support to disadvantaged girls from Africa (and presently operating in Kenya, Uganda, South Africa, and Ghana) to universities mainly in the US, South Africa, Ghana and Canada and more recently the UK and Japan.
Isaac Awuondo was appointed by HE The President of Kenya, Uhuru Kenyatta, as co-chair with Hon. Abdikadir H. Mohammed, of The Presidential Taskforce on Parastatal Reforms (PTPR).
The PTPR was tasked with the responsibility of interrogating the policies on the management and governance of Kenya’s parastatals with the aim of determining how best they would contribute to the pursuit of national development aspirations, facilitating the transformation of our country into a great land of prosperity and opportunity for all.
The product of the task force is a pointer of Isaac’s experience and skill set wrung from over 34 years in financial services, financial risk, corporate finance, business strategy, and change management. The taskforce completed its work and delivered the report to the President on time in October 2013.
Isaac previously served on the Board of the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) as director up to 1998 after which he was appointed Chairman, serving up to 2003. He also served as Director of Centum Investment Company (earlier known as ICDC Investments) until September 12, 2008 and Uchumi Supermarkets up to 2005.
Since his appointment by HE The President of Kenya, to chair the board of the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA), the authority has embarked on expansion and rehabilitation of airstrips and airports as it seeks to open up tourism, boost the movement of cargo and enhance mobility of passengers across the country.
Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) is undergoing a major facelift. Under Isaac Awuondo’s leadership, KAA is committed to positioning JKIA as the preferred regional aviation hub in East and Central Africa. In this regard, KAA has embarked on a renovation project to upgrade JKIA’s Terminal 1B and 1C.
The 15-month JKIA development project which is estimated to cost KES 963 million aims to refurbish the departure halls to improve the check-in, security screening, retail operations and most importantly, travellers experience.
Once completed, the newly renovated light-filled departure terminals will deliver modern concessions and amenities that will give travellers a friendly and memorable experience. It will also ease passenger flow and increase efficiency due to the centralisation of security screening procedures and the reallocation of available floor spaces to international departure gates.“The refurbishment and facelift of the T1B and 1C aims to align the passenger experience in these terminals to match what is offered at T1A. The remodelling project is an integral part of the necessary upgrade work to position JKIA as a regional hub and the ongoing JKIA customer service improvement plan (CSIP) that was sanctioned by the board and formulated after the consideration of feedback from our stakeholders and customers.
Isaac Awuondo is a keen golfer, enjoys music and is a collector of contemporary African Art and classic cars, areas of interest for more than 30 years.
