Inside Risper Ohaga’s career as she leaves EABL for CEO role

East African Breweries Limited Chief Financial Officer Risper Genga Ohaga has been appointed Group Chief Executive Officer of APA Apollo Group, marking a significant leadership transition within Kenya’s insurance and asset management sector.

Ohaga will assume her new role on 1 July 2026, following the conclusion of her tenure at East African Breweries Plc on 30 June 2026.

Her departure from EABL comes at a pivotal moment for the brewer, coinciding with Diageo’s planned sale of its majority stake to a Japanese firm Asahi Group Holdings.

Ohaga succeeds Ashok Shah, who has led APA Apollo Group for 14 years, overseeing its growth into a diversified financial services group comprising six entities, primarily in insurance and asset management.

The Group’s flagship subsidiary, APA Insurance, remains one of the most prominent players in Kenya’s insurance market.

Announcing the appointment, APA Apollo Group described the transition as both deliberate and strategic, underscoring the Board’s confidence in Ms. Ohaga’s depth of experience across finance, governance and regional leadership.

Ohaga has served as Group Chief Financial Officer and Executive Director at EABL since February 2020, a period marked by significant operational complexity and strategic recalibration.

As a subsidiary of Diageo Plc, EABL operates five breweries, two distilleries and a barley and malting facility across Eastern Africa, generating annual turnover exceeding USD 1 billion.

Listed on all three East African stock exchanges, EABL is currently the second-largest company on the Nairobi Securities Exchange by market capitalisation and ranks among Africa’s top 50 listed firms.

Ohaga was responsible for shaping and delivering group strategy alongside the Board and executive leadership, while providing functional oversight of finance, taxation, treasury, financial reporting and business performance.

Beyond EABL, Ohaga brings extensive boardroom experience within Kenya’s financial services sector.

She currently serves as a Non-Executive Director at I&M Bank and has been an Independent Non-Executive Director at APA Insurance Limited since January 2022, where she chairs the Board Audit and Risk Committee.

Ohaga’s professional journey spans more than two decades, with strong roots in banking, audit and corporate finance.

She spent over eight years at Barclays Africa Group Limited, holding senior roles across multiple markets.

Her tenure included serving as Chief Financial Officer of Barclays Bank Zambia Plc, as well as Managing Director and Director roles within Barclays Internal Audit, where she oversaw audit delivery across up to 13 African countries.

Earlier in her career, she was Regional Director for East and West Africa, covering markets including Kenya, Uganda, Ghana and Tanzania.

She began her professional career at KPMG, where she rose to the position of Senior Manager, laying a strong foundation in audit, risk and advisory services.

As Group CEO, Ohaga is expected to focus on strengthening APA Apollo Group’s core insurance business, deepening asset management capabilities and navigating a rapidly evolving regulatory and economic landscape.