East African Portland Cement Company (EAPCC) has appointed Simon Peter Ole Nkeri as the new Chief Executive Officer.
Ole Nkeri, whose appointment was announced by board chairman William Lay, will take over from Kephar Tande.
Mr Tande joined EAPCC on August 1, 2007 and held several positions before being named as CEO on November 16, 2010.
The appointment of Mr Simon Ole Nkeri will take effect on Friday 15th August 2015 and we look forward to working with him and the EAPCC team to overcome the many challenges that lie ahead and grow sustainable shareholder value,” Mr Lay said in a press dispatch on Thursday.
The search for Mr Tande’s successor kicked off in June with the company resorting to direct recruitment rather than engaging consulting firms as was previously the case.
“We want a CEO with significant industry experience and financial understanding; one who could manage a business restructuring and capital injection program; one who would bring operating discipline,” the Athi River-based firm said in a press notice.
The Treasury owns 25 per cent of Portland Cement and has traditionally added up to NSSF’s 27 per cent stake to exercise control at Kenya’s second-largest cement firm.
LafargeHolcim owns 41.7 per cent of EAPCC, and also holds a controlling stake of 58.6 per cent at rival firm Bamburi Cement.
EAPCC’s succession plan was jolted by the exit in May of chief operations officer Albert Sigei, a Lafarge executive who was poised to take over from Mr Tande, whose term was to expire in November.
Mr Tande began his second three-year term at the helm of EAPCC on November 16, 2013. His tenure has been a mixed bag of opportunities — with the company oscillating between losses and profits.
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EAPCC reported a net loss of Ksh531 million for the half-year ended December 2015 compared to an after tax loss of Sh65.3 million a year earlier.
Ole Nkeri, who has a legal and accounting background, was in April appointed by National Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich to be a member of the Disciplinary Committee of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants for a period of three years with effect from April 1, 2016. He holds an MBA in banking.
In the last General Election he contested the Kajiado senatorial seat by lost to Peter Mositet of The National Alliance.
Ole Nkeri, who was running on the ticket of the Grand National Union, garnered 69,574 votes to Mositet’s 145,703.
He has previously worked in the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) as a manager and in 2003, he briefly worked as the acting Capital Market Authority (CMA) chief executive.
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