Interviews

Flavia Nalubbo, the head of Finance for Liquid Intelligent Technologies in Uganda, has spent the bulk of her nearly one-and-a-half decade professional career in the telecoms sector.

As CFO of the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS) Global Network, Rana Auditto oversees five African countries and offices in Canada, the UK, and Germany - all from Rwanda.

Growing up in Voi Town, Kenya, Adili Group CEO Shital Shah had a bit of an unconventional upbringing: the Tsavo National Park was her weekend visit and the family had a baby elephant for a pet!

With a surname like Kerich, it surprises no one in his rural Bomet that Baraka is working for a hospital group today (kerich means medicine in the Kipsigis language). But the CFO of Gertrude’s Hospital Group did not see this coming.

Having a commercial and strategy background enabled Peter Ndegwa to be a different finance leader than a typical CFO. Being in a number of functions before becoming head of Safaricom was also very useful in his transition to CEO.

Taking inspiration from family members in finance, Ezekiel Lovililo, the CFO of Nicol Tanzania, has rapidly risen through the ranks, deepening his knowledge in both the private and public sectors.

Shereena Wilson is a Rwanda-based fractional CFO. She initiated her freelancing journey in 2020, and is part of a growing trend of professionals finding fulfilment in remote freelancing.

Very few people will serve as CFO of a major bank and CFO of a national airline before the age of thirty-five. It is indeed a rarity and Andrew Ssekamwa, CFO of Uganda Airlines, is definitely an achiever for having accomplished this feat.

During his childhood, Unga CFO James Nyutu spent most of his weekends and school holidays working in his mother's general store, and this sparked a keen interest in money matters that led him to develop a liking for mathematics.

Early in her career, one pivotal moment shaped Theresa Salvatori's perspective on leadership: A performance review, initially perceived as a sting, turned out to be a profound lesson for the former CFO of Kone East Africa.

Haytham Ammar was late last year appointed CFO of M-Pesa Africa. CFO East Africa recently caught up with him, to chat about his career and the reasons behind his move to the mobile money company.

Caroline Nderitu’s father wanted her to work with a gavel in hand – as a judge. But she had other ideas, which led her to becoming the finance director at Minet Kenya at the astonishingly young age of 35.

Ernst Vriesendorp, CFO and COO of SolarNow, fell in love with East Africa when he worked on a project in the Maasai Mara in 2014.

Reverien Mutangana, director of finance and administration at EPC Africa-CEC, believes that specialisation positions finance leaders as competent professionals in-country and also opens doors to international opportunities.

Having been fascinated by planes from a young age, ICEA LION Life Assurance CFO Kevin Nyakeri’s desire growing up was to be a pilot.

"CFOs thrive when they are placed in a flat rather than a purely hierarchical structure." This is according to Africa Legal Network (ALN) CFO Timothy Thaiting’a.

At MTN, CFO Andrew Bugembe has been through the trenches across the African continent, the least of his challenges being culture shock.

In the realm of finance, where numbers often hold the key to success, William Olotu, finance director at Abercrombie & Kent in Tanzania, has not only mastered the intricacies of balance sheets but has also found an unexpected passion in the discipline of karate.

Flora Makule, the CFO of Reliance Insurance Tanzania has former first lady Anna Mkapa to thank for her accounting career.

Returning to Africa has been as much a personal journey as it has been a professional one for WPP Scangroup CFO Miriam Kaggwa, who is a chemical engineer by training, a scientist by nature and a finance leader by choice.