Popular Kenyan beer that new Safaricom CEO developed

Safaricom PLC on Thursday announced that the board had agreed to appoint Diageo's Peter Ndegwa as its new Chief Executive Officer.

Mr Ndegwa has a career in finance services and fast-moving consumer goods which spans 25 years.

The new CEO spent some eight years of his career at management level roles in the East Africa Breweries Limited (EABL) where he is credited with having developed the popular Senator beer.

During his tenure, EABL produced the affordable lager brand which proved to be a remarkable success having been featured in the Harvard Business Review.

He served as the Group Chief Finance Officer (CFO), Group Strategy Director, Sales Director, and as an Executive Director on the EABL Board during his time at the company.

A career in beer

Ndegwa, who will officially join Safaricom in April 2020, is currently working with the British multinational alcoholic beverages company Diageo as the Managing Director of Continental Europe where he is in charge of operations in 50 countries.

Prior to making history as the first African Diageo head in Europe, Mr Ndegwa was working as the managing director for Guinness Ghana and Guinness Nigeria.

Before joining EABL (the Nairobi-based Diageo subsidiary), Ndegwa had worked at PwC for 11 years.

He holds an MBA from the London Business School and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Nairobi. He is also a Certified Public Accountant and a member of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Kenya (ICPAK).