The four-hour event was packed with conversations on inspirational financial leadership, with executives going the extra mile to reveal their career-defining moments and the lessons they learnt from them.
On Friday 15 May 2026, close to 100 finance executives from Uganda’s leading companies gathered at Four Points by Sheraton, Kampala for the inaugural CFO East Africa Leadership Summit in the country.
Group CFO of AAR Insurance Hosea Kiprop and I&M Bank Uganda CFO Timothy Musiime set the scene by sharing the advice they had received from mentors in their career including the need for courage in moments when businesses need leaders to be counted upon.
The baton was then passed to a panel comprising Uganda National Oil Corporation’s Emmanuel Mugagga, Centenary Bank’s Patricia Muganga and Uganda Electricity Distribution Company’s Jacqueline Kiwanuka. The trio were hosted by Joël Roerig, managing director of Executive Communities, the company hosting a fourth summit in Uganda having convened the CITO East Africa inaugural summit a day earlier.
“It is so great to have the money, the oil and the power seated on this stage to share their management experiences,” Joel joked. The panel took the cue and shared with a light touch something surprising about them before delving into the leadership question with insights from their long careers leading finance teams.
CFOs then split into eight groups to network and share their leadership lessons and stories in a safe space.
After dinner, a third collective comprising Madhvani Group’s Chalapathi Rao, Hariss International’s Eunice Waweru and Finca Uganda’s Robinah Siima took the conversation further with insights from their career-defining moments.
“I once blew the whistle on fraud at a factory and the employees involved took me prisoner for several hours,” Chalapathi said, emphasising the need to take bold decisions even when the stakes are high. On her part, Eunice shared the lessons she has learned having transitioned from a global multi-national with tried and tested systems to a family-owned business lacking defined processes and procedures.
“My career-defining moment was when I divested from my investments and set up businesses in fast-food and electronics,” Robinah revealed. “It provided me with first-hand experience of what the customers of FINCA are going through which has made me a better CFO as I now bring their insights into management discussions at the micro-finance lender.”
Renowned business leader Francis Kamulegeya delivered the keynote address challenging CFOs to embrace emotional intelligence and effective communication as they map their careers and go beyond their titles.
The evening ended with a presentation of accolades by CFO East Africa Award Judges Andrew Ssekamwa (Mpegen Advisory) and Miriam Kaggwa (WPP Scangroup). The Public Impact Award was presented to Peter Ssenyange of Pearl Bank and the CFO of the Year 2025 (Uganda) was handed to Andrew Bugembe of MTN. Peter reflected on digital transformation and sustainability efforts at Pearl Bank while Andrew shared his secrets for effective finance transformation.
Caroline Owomuhangi, head of brand and marketing at Old Mutual spoke on behalf of the financial services group, the principal partner at the event. The event was also supported by associate partner GardaWorld Security and corporate members Hariss International, KCB, NSSF, Pearl Bank, Stanbic Bank and Uganda Breweries.
