The appointment of Kenya Airways chairman Micheal Joseph as Safaricom interim CEO following the death of Bob Collymore has sparked debate with Kenyans trying to understand the board’s rationale behind overlooking senior executives at the company to appoint a former CEO currently serving as board member at the telco.
Micheal Joseph is no stranger to the corner office at Safaricom House having served as chief executive between 2000 and 2010 when he retired.
Joseph oversaw the implementation of a number of Safaricom’s flagship projects including M-Pesa which was taken to the next level by his successor, Collymore.
However Kenyans are caught in a debate revolving around the board’s decision to overlook Chief Customer Officer Sylvia Mulinge, Chief Special Projects Joseph Ogutu and Chief Finance Officer (CFO) Sateesh Kamath.
{Read: Bob Collymore to be laid to rest on Tuesday in a private ceremony}
Not good at all , this looks like a vote of no confidence on all the senior guys @SafaricomPLC and talks volumes of a deficit in succession planning! https://t.co/XGXi0iafiT
— Martha Karua (@MarthaKarua) July 2, 2019
Michael Joseph's appointment is a step back.🙄
Surely Sylvia mulinge deserved this chance to prove herself…
Come-on!!! pic.twitter.com/0sfsO7gG9C— Miss CateKE™🇰🇪 (@misscateke) July 2, 2019
As a Safaricom shareholder i want a CEO that will increase my dividends from 531 last year to 1000…I don't care if its Michael Joseph or Sylvia Mulinge or someone else all i care about is my money.
— Almamy Mohaâ„¢ (@AlmamyMoha) July 2, 2019
https://twitter.com/rjakom/status/1145956063080058880
In April reports emerged that a succession war was rocking the Ksh1.1 trillion firm over Collymore’s imminent exit with the government insisting that the former’s successor must be a Kenyan.
{See also: Bob Collymore: Guyanese boy who was living his dream}
However Collymore’s term as CEO was extended by 12 months to compensate for the 9 months he was absent on medical leave.
Collymore was set to retire in 2020 but chairman Nicholas Ng’ang’a has confirmed that the the deceased had informed the board of his deteriorating health condition and informed them that he would be unable to see through the one year term.
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