Kenyan’s leading mobile network operator Safaricom has appointed Michael Joseph as an interim chief executive officer following the death of Bob Collymore on Monday. Joseph, according to the board, will hold the position until the board communicates a replacement.
Mr Micheal was the CEO of the company. He will at the same time be the Chairman of the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, the Chancellor of Maseno University. and the chairman of Kenya Airways.
Safaricom PLC, owner of popular mobile-phone payments platform M-Pesa is a prominent technology company in Kenya. With millions of Kenyans using M-Pesa, Safaricom controls around two-thirds of the Kenyan telecom market.
Mr Joseph was named as CEO in an interim capacity during a special meeting of directors following the passing away of Bob Colloymore, the late revolutionary CEO.
Colloymore, who was born in Guyana and raised in Europe, took control of Safaricom in 2010.
He marshalled Safaricom through its development of mobile applications growing its subscriber base from 17 million to more than 30 million. He died at the age of 61 in his Nairobi home after a long battle with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML).
Joseph, who previously worked as the company’s chief executive before Colloymore, will temporarily steer the operations of the company.
The board of directors have put their trust in him to stabilize the company and put investors’ minds at ease as Safaricom shares were down 0.4 per cent by 12:33 a.m. in Nairobi.
It is hoped that Joseph’s experience and foundational knowledge will bring an end to the skittishness of investors and maybe add an inspiring touch that will keep Safaricom growing.
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