Jubilee Health Insurance CFO Eugine Mutekhele has navigated an intriguing journey, changing careers with relative ease. He chronicles his path from humble beginnings in tech to the C-suite of one of the region's largest insurers.
“If I told you I studied engineering in university, you probably wouldn’t believe me. I studied electronic and computer engineering at JKUAT, and by then, my mind was fixated. I was going to be an engineer,” Eugine says.
But in Eugine's final year of university, a PwC roadshow made a stop at his campus, and he applied to join the firm. By then, he had sent out applications to most tech companies within his professional radius, including Safaricom, Ericsson, and Nokia. He began his career at a small engineering outfit, lasting only three months. He then received an interview invitation from PwC and landed a job offer that paid twice as much as he had been making earlier.
“I remember asking my brother, ‘Do you really think I should go to PwC or continue with what I'm doing? My brother asked me, ‘Where do you want to get to? If you want to be a CEO as quickly as possible, you're better off joining the corporate world. If you remain in tech, you will spend a lot of time repairing masts or doing similar things.’ It didn't appeal to me and three months in, you realise you've wasted five years in university doing a course you shouldn’t have been doing in the first place,” he says.
The 12 years Eugine spent at the audit firm laid the groundwork for the role he plays today. In his fifth year, PwC offered him a two-year secondment to the United Kingdom, followed by an additional two and a half years to Rwanda. When he returned, he was ready to leave professional services.
A new direction
“It took a little bit of time looking, but I found something in April of 2021. I joined Old Mutual Life Business as their CFO. This was during the pandemic, and it was quite an experience because for about a year and a half after I joined, we only did online meetings. You haven’t met the colleagues you're working with in person. I settled in pretty quickly. I had a very good support structure,” Eugine adds.
According to Eugine, the enactment of the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF) Act 2023 in Kenya presents unique opportunities for the health insurance subsector. To seize the moment, Eugine and his team have worked out products complementary to what SHIF offers. This is part of his plan to ensure continuity in the business and capitalise on available opportunities.
“We cannot be competitors of the government. Enactment of universal healthcare is going to be very impactful. It's going to touch many people. The UK has an equivalent healthcare system called the NHS. But that has matured, and it didn't take one day. It took a bit of time. I can see what the government is trying to do. We have some teething problems. But eventually, we will get there.”
With time, Eugine has learnt to work with his team members, many of whom have worked at Jubilee Health for more than a decade. He believes in creating an environment of trust, where everyone works in synergy to achieve shared goals. When Eugine assigns tasks to his team members, he expects them to report back to him with their deliverables. He often steps in only when they encounter stumbling blocks and need his assistance. To keep things on course, he and his sectional heads catch up in weekly meetings where they review tasks, share ideas, and decide the way forward. He reveals that giving his team members autonomy has been beneficial to both the finance function and the entire organisation.
“I'll give an example. My head of treasury has a mandate to maximise my investment income, and I will afford him that space to think through various investment options based on my liquidity needs on a weekly and monthly basis and work either directly with the banks or the fund manager for fund placements or liquidations. He seems quite happy with this as it is translating into something. Give people space to be the best they can be.”
Calm and collected
Eugine’s approach to leadership is an offshoot of his general demeanour, which he describes as “calm”. He speaks with a relaxed tone that exudes confidence and self-assuredness. Although this has the effect of keeping everyone around him equally serene, he sometimes worries about what it would mean in times of crisis.
“At times, you need to be worried about things. Otherwise, your house might be on fire and you're not proactively dealing with it,” he says.
Despite his disposition, his audit firm history inducted him into a highly productive culture that accustomed him to a fast-paced work environment. He had to work hard to overcome his deadline-driven work ethic and move at the pace of those around him. Through his storied journey across different fields, Eugine has learnt that experience is the best teacher.
“It takes time, right? There are no shortcuts. You have to put in the work, and you have to put in the time. And, of course, it would help if you also network. Look out for these forums. There are various forums; insurance forums, executive forums, and CFO forums. Get into these forums and meet people,” he advises.
He and his wife, also a finance executive, are often in friendly competition and find themselves in the same networking circles. He describes his family as his “number one supporters”. For this reason, he clocks out of work in good time to ensure he spends time with his three children as they grow. He also encourages his team members to do the same.
“Kids switch on very quickly from one employer to the next. I remember when I joined Old Mutual, they became very accustomed to all the merchandise and the fireworks display at the end of each year. Then I joined Jubilee and now they carry Jubilee merchandise everywhere. I think they are my marketers. They always ask me when they can come to my workplace.”
Touching lives
In 1999, when he was in primary school, Eugine took up basketball, a hobby he continues to enjoy to this day. Recently, he and a couple of friends approached a church in Huruma Estate, Nairobi, for the use of their basketball court. As they played, young boys who live in the area would mill around them to watch. Eugine and his friends took an interest in them and invited them to join their team.
“Largely because we were ageing and needed fresh talented blood. We started asking them, ‘What do you do?’ and some would say, ‘I dropped out of school.’ Some had finished college and had their diploma papers. And they are really good at basketball. In Kenya, though many may not know this, we have basketball scouts who seek out talent. One of those kids we invited to play for our team was called to represent Kenya in basketball under 18 competition last year. He has been recruited to play for the top team in the Kenya league this basketball season. We have another kid who has gotten a basketball scholarship. For the ones with papers, we use our networks to get them something to do. We do not have corporate sponsors. We do this out of pocket. But it's actually starting to create a difference. It makes me feel so proud,” he says.
At the end of his career, Eugine hopes to leave behind an organisation that grows sustainably and a happy team. He is eager to build people who are more than capable of doing twice what he can with half the team.
“I also hope to get enough money to move into philanthropy or something that can impact people's lives. I think I'll be successful when I can comfortably walk out.”
