On June 16th, 2023, the Board of Directors of I&M Bank Rwanda Plc announced the appointment of Mr Benjamin Mutimura as the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO), effective 1st July 2023 and subject to regulatory approval by the National Bank of Rwanda (BNR). Mr Mutimura was the Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) at Bank of Kigali from June 2020 and has been serving as a board member of Bank of Kigali, Capital.
The Board of Directors of I&M (Rwanda) Plc announced Mr Robin Bairstow will step down as the CEO for I&M Bank Rwanda Plc. Mr Bairstow transition into a new assignment within the Group, subject to regulatory approval, will be communicated over the next few weeks.
Board chairman Bonaventure Niyibizi said in a statement Robin Bairstow has been instrumental in leading the growth of the bank for over seven years that saw him take it public in 2017 and oversaw the full implementation of the new Finacle Core Banking System and the construction and moving into the new iconic head office building in Kigali.
Mr Bairstow championed digital onboarding and loans application, thus increasing access to finance via a blockchain powered mobile money application. During his tenure, the bank has picked up numerous industry awards for governance, product innovation, diversity and inclusion. Core to this has been the entrenchment of the Group’s culture transformation agenda, resulting in best-in-class staff engagement levels.
Benjamin Mutimura has over 16 years’ experience in the financial services sector and has significantly contributed to the success of the organisations he has worked for. He started off his career at I&M Bank Rwanda in 2007 as a Development Finance Officer and rose through the ranks to become Credit Manager, Head of Retail Banking and eventually the Head of Corporate and Institutional Banking, a position he held until 2020 when he moved to Bank of Kigali.
In his last immediate role as the CCO for Bank of Kigali, Mr Mutimura played a key role in overseeing the development and implementation of the commercial strategy, ensuring the distribution and availability of competitive products, strategic marketing, relationship management and channel utilization.
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Benjamin Mutimura holds a Master’s Degree in Development Economics from Louvain la Neuve & Namur University in Belgium and a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from the former National University of Rwanda. He has completed a Leadership Program at Strathmore University, the Senior Executive Program at Harvard Business School and is a certified credit professional (Omega Performance) with a passion for organizational leadership.
“The Board would like to thank Mr. Robin Bairstow for his exemplary service and stewardship during his tenure as the I&M Bank Rwanda Plc CEO,” said Mr Bonaventure Niyibizi, Board Chairman, I&M Rwanda Plc.
He said during his tenure the bank grew three-fold in assets and increased net revenue market share by 35%., adding that the outgoing CEO had played a vital role as an advocate for the industry, having been chosen by his peers to lead the Rwanda Bankers’ Association.
The new CEO will lead the bank’s ongoing growth strategy. “We believe Mr Benjamin Mutimura is the right leader to drive the delivery of the ambitious growth plans for our next cycle under our Imara 3.0 strategy,” Mr Kihara Maina, Regional CEO, I&M Group Plc said. “He has the requisite business experience and the drive to help us take I&M Bank Rwanda to the next level of growth and development.”
