Diana Mwaniki knows what it means to lead when the ground shifts beneath you. As head of finance decision support and finance director at Absa Bank Kenya’s bancassurance arm, she brings calm, agile thinking to times of uncertainty.
For Diana Mwaniki, every day in finance feels like flying through new turbulence. She compares her work to a pilot stabilising an aircraft mid-flight, adjusting in real time while never losing sight of the destination. In her dual role as head of finance decision support and finance director at Absa Bank Kenya’s bancassurance arm, Diana is keen to stay responsive.
“It’s one of those roles where you walk into the office thinking the day will be stable. By mid-morning, a change in the market or regulations completely shifts your priorities. You have to assess what it means for the customer and the shareholders. Every day brings something new,” she says.
While working in a previous role in South Sudan in 2015, she woke up one morning to find that the government had switched from a fixed exchange rate to a floating one. Within hours, the organisation faced hyperinflation and a volatile balance sheet. Overnight, she built a cross-functional team to address these issues.
“We worked flat out for two months. We had to think about staff implications, stabilise the balance sheet, and adopt hyperinflation accounting. There was no precedent for what we were doing. It taught me a lot about collaboration and agility,” she reveals.
Empathetic leadership
Since then, Diana approaches finance as a multi-dimensional space that touches every part of the organisation. She believes effective leadership in unpredictable environments requires communication and empathy.
“Until you collaborate with specialists in other areas, you don’t have the full view. It’s not just about numbers. There’s always a people angle and a regulatory angle to consider. You have to be willing to shift your thinking,” she explains.
At Absa, Diana has seen how much impact empathetic decision-making can have. She has observed that leaders who recognise people’s realities build more resilient teams and more sustainable cultures.
“In my current workspace, people lead with empathy. Decisions are made with the human element in mind. That’s been a big shift for me. It’s shown me the value of bringing compassion into leadership,” she says.
When Diana made the move from a professional audit firm into mainstream banking, she was asked to simplify a 325-page integrated report in a way that retained technical accuracy while making the content accessible to investors, regulators, employees, and shareholders. When the report was submitted for the Financial Reporting (FIRE) Awards in 2022, it won in multiple categories
“We won best listed company and most IFRS compliant report. We also took home the overall FIRE Award that year. Hearing stakeholders saying that we are communicating value meant everything . That validation stays with me,” she says.
Support and mentorship
Another recent success involved a cost-optimisation challenge issued by Absa at the start of the year. Diana was tasked with identifying and reducing non-strategic costs while preserving key services. Rather than approaching the task as a numbers problem, she built a team of people who understood the operational implications behind each line item.
“We’re set to achieve a five percent cost reduction in the first year alone. People brought in ideas that made a huge difference. Execution made the strategy real. That initiative has delivered results, and I’m proud of what we’ve done,” she beams.
From her earliest days in high school, when senior students acted as “school mums,” Diana has always grown within environments where support, and mentorship were foundational. Her time in audit provided rigorous technical training and reinforced the value of being mentored while learning to mentor others in return.
After joining a running club last year in March, she committed to a level of discipline and consistency that saw her complete a full marathon in December. For Diana, running community and the art of showing up even when the terrain becomes steep or the mind starts to resist.
Courage to keep showing up
Placed side by side, these two paths – mentorship and completing marathons – reveal the same core lessons that translate powerfully into the corporate world. In both, one is shaped by those ahead of them and they grow by guiding those behind them. Progress is sustained through the courage to keep showing up. In moments of stress, Diana turns to her husband and children for perspective. Her young children’s curiosity and humour often pull her back into the present.
“Those simple moments at home are what keep me grounded. My husband will say something small that puts everything into perspective. It brings balance after long days,” she says.
Asked to share the advice she wishes she had received earlier, she pauses, then smiles. The lesson is one she has learned repeatedly over the years.
“It will all work out eventually. The path may change, but things find their way. That’s something I hold onto. It’s what I tell my team too,” she says.
Diana also finds inspiration in the music of Kenyan afropop band Sauti Sol. Though the band is now on hiatus, Diana still finds herself returning to their music.
“I love their music as a group. Live and Die in Afrika celebrates who you are, and Midnight Train was more reflective. I think they were kind of warning us they would separate. Bien is fantastic, but there’s something special about them together,” she says.
