Bob Collymore
Chief Executive Officer
Bob is the CEO of Safaricom Limited, a position held since 1st November 2010. Previously he has worked in the UK, Japan, and South Africa in a number of senior executive roles in Marketing, Purchasing, Retail, Governance and Corporate Affairs. He has more than 30 years of commercial experience working in senior executive roles in the telecommunications sector.
Bob serves on the Board of Acumen, the United Nations Global Compact Board and is a member of the B TEAM, a not-for-profit initiative formed by a global group of business leaders to catalyse a better way of doing business, for the wellbeing of people and the planet. He also serves on the Kenya Vision 2030 board, is a Founder Trustee in the National Road Safety Trust and Chairman of the TEAMS Board. He has recently served on a UN Commission on Life Saving commodities for women and children.
Stephen Chege
Director, Corporate Affairs
With a deep background in Regulatory and Legal affairs, Stephen is responsible for the Corporate Affairs Division, which provides strategic support functions to Safaricom’s operations. These functions include the Regulatory and Public Policy, Legal and Secretarial Services; Corporate Responsibility (incorporating the Safaricom and M-PESA Foundations as well as Sustainability Reporting); and the Corporate Communications functions.
Stephen has a wealth of telecommunications professional experience spanning over 14 years in various organisations, including Vodafone Group UK. He first joined Safaricom in 2006 as In-House Counsel, rising over the years to hold the position of Senior Manager, Public Policy & Market Regulation until 2011 when he was appointed Head of Regulatory and Public Policy. In April 2015, he became the Director, Corporate Affairs.
An advocate of the High Court of Kenya, Stephen holds a Masters in Law (LL.M) in International Trade and Investment Law from the University of Nairobi and a Bachelor of Laws Degree (LL.B) from the same university. He is a Certified Public Secretary and a Trustee of the Safaricom Foundation, where he nurtures his ambition to provide access to education for young, disadvantaged children. Stephen is currently a member of the Taskforce established under the Kenyan ICT Ministry to develop the Policy Framework and Critical Infrastructure Bill for the protection of critical ICT infrastructure.
Nicholas Mulila
Director, Risk Management
Nicholas Mulila is the Company’s Director – Risk Management, responsible for the Risk Management functions of the company that include, Enterprise Risk Management, Ethics and Compliance, Revenue Assurance, Security and Anti-Money Laundering.
He joined Safaricom in 2001 and has risen the ranks to become a member of Senior Leadership Team. His journey through Safaricom has seen him hold the positions of Senior Management Accountant and Principal Business Planning & Forecasting Accountant in the finance division, Head of Corporate Strategy and Planning, Head of Commercial Planning/Pricing Department and most recently Executive Business Analyst and Program Management Officer. Prior to joining Safaricom, Nicholas had worked for General Motors (EA) and Eastern produce (K) Ltd, where he held various positions in finance.
Nicholas has over 15 years’ experience in Finance, Business Analysis, Strategy formulation and Execution.
He holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree (Accounting option) and a Master of Business Administration degree in Strategy from the University of Nairobi. He is a member of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Kenya (ICPAK) and the Institute of Certified Public Secretaries of Kenya (ICPSK).
Sylvia Mulinge
Director Consumer Business Unit
Sylvia Mulinge is currently the Director for Consumer Business at Safaricom. With a keen interest in consumer marketing and brand activation, Sylvia has spent over a decade in marketing with half of this in the telecommunications industry.
She joined Safaricom in February 2006 from Unilever and rose from the role of Prepay product manager to Head of Retail, then GM of Safaricom Business and eventually taking her current position as Director, Consumer Business.
A first class honours graduate in Food Science and Technology from the University of Nairobi, Sylvia is a member of the Marketing Society of Kenya and she has distinguished herself by winning various marketing awards in the industry.
Sylvia is a mentor and leader in both her private and public life. She was recently voted as one of the top 40 most influential women under the age of 40 in Kenya by Business Daily, the East Africa’s premier business newspaper.
Betty Mwangi-Thuo
General Manager, Financial Services
Betty joined Safaricom in December 2007 as Head of Division charged with managing the New Products Division comprising M-PESA business and GSMA projects. She was promoted to Chief Officer New Products Division in October 2008 with the additional responsibility for Safaricom’s Value Added Service which championed product innovation and new product roadmap.
Betty Mwangi-Thuo is currently the General Manager of Financial Services business unit which oversees the strategic growth, profitability and development of M-PESA, the globally acclaimed mobile money transfer service.
Ms. Mwangi has over 17 years’ experience in the telecommunications industry. Prior to joining Safaricom she was Chief Marketing Officer at Afsat Communications Ltd. She also worked with GlaxoSmithKline for 5 years in various management positions responsible for the East African business and Interoperability for Africa and Middle East.
Ms. Mwangi is a Kenyan citizen and has a B. Eng (Hons) in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from the Victoria University of Manchester and also has an MBA from the University of Leicester – both in the UK. She is also a Chartered Marketer and a member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing.
In June 2010, Betty was featured by MCI (Mobile Communications International) as one of the top 10 most influential women in mobile globally and in August 2011 and 2013, she was recognized as one of the TOP 20 most powerful African Women in ICT by the ITNewsAfrica.
In December 2011, Betty was recognized for her contribution to Kenya’s Information Communications Technology (ICT) sector by His Excellency the President of Kenya, Hon. Mwai Kibaki who awarded her the prestigious State honours of the Moran of the Order of the Burning Spear (MBS)
Joseph Ogutu
Director Strategy & Innovation
Joseph Ogutu joined Safaricom as Chief Corporate Affairs Officer in May 2005 from Telkom Kenya where he was the principal assistant to the Managing Director and Chief Strategy and Regulatory Officer. He then served as Chief Human Resource Officer from 2008 before taking on the role of Director Resources in the March 2011 company reorganization. In October 2012, Mr. Ogutu was appointed as the Director, Strategy & innovation where he works closely with the CEO in formulating strategic direction for the business and focusing on developing Safaricom’s position as an industry leader in driving innovation in products and services. He is also serves as the Chairman of Safaricom Foundation and sits in the board of TEAMS Limited.
Mr. Ogutu has had a dynamic career in the telecommunications industry spanning more than 25 years of which the last 12 have been at Executive Committee level. During this period, he was actively involved in the reform of the sector including the drafting of the Postal and Telecommunication Policy Paper that led to the restructuring of the defunct Kenya Posts and Telecommunications Corporation and subsequent establishment of CCK, Telkom Kenya and Postal Corporation of Kenya. He has also been involved in the establishment of the institutional framework for the Eastern Africa Submarine Cable System (Eassy).
Mr. Ogutu is a Kenyan citizen and a graduate of Economics from the University of Nairobi.
Rita Okuthe
Director, Enterprise Business Unit
Rita joined Safaricom in August 2009 as Head of Consumer Segments, a role in which she proved over the years to be invaluable in driving voice revenues through her great understanding of our consumer behaviour. She later held the role of Director Marketing until she was appointed as the Director for Enterprise Business in March 2015. Prior to joining Safaricom, she held several marketing roles, including Head of Marketing at MTN Uganda. Rita has several years work experience in advertising and brand management and has successfully managed brands at all stages; from infancy to maturity in both monopolistic and highly competitive environments.
Rita holds a degree in Economics and a Master’s degree in Marketing.
Denish Osodo
Director, Internal Audit
Denish is the Director Internal Audit a role he has held since October 2013. He is a seasoned professional with 14 years’ experience in Audit and Risk Advisory Services. He previously worked at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) for several years, offering audit and business advisory services to Companies in different industries during his stints in Kenya and United Kingdom offices. He left PwC as a Director in the Risk Assurance Services team focusing on the provision of Internal Audit and business Controls Advisory Services to large businesses in the region.
Denish graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Nairobi and is a practicing member of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Kenya (ICPAK).
Thibaud Rerolle
Director, Technical & I.T
Thibaud Rerolle is the Director – Technology. He joined Safaricom in January 2012. Previously he was the Chief Technology Officer at Orange Dominicana in the Dominican Republic. He has a wealth of experience having worked in senior management positions in France Telecom Group for 17 years in roles that covered Networks, Management, International assignments and Customer services spanning 6 countries in Europe and South America.
Thibaud has a Bachelor of Sciences Degree in Telecommunications Engineering with a specialization in Networks from the prestigious Telecom ParisTech (ENST) and has also attended Prytanée National Militaire Prepatory School in France.
Thibaud is married with children. He is fluent in 6 languages.
John Tombleson
CFO
John Tombleson joined Safaricom as the Finance Director in November 2011 from Vodafone Qatar, where he held the roles of Acting Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer. He is an original member of the Qatar start-up team which was founded in 2008 and has built a population market share of 48% within 2 years.
John first joined Vodafone in New Zealand in 2003, and has since held senior financial roles in both mobile and fixed telecommunications operations. He is a Board member of Vodafone Qatar, and was previously a Board member of Vodafone Fiji.
Prior to joining Vodafone, John was a management consultant with clients across a variety of industries.
John has a Bachelor of Management Studies, with majors in marketing and accounting.
Jannet Atika
Director, Customer Operations
Jannet is currently the Head of Customer Operations. She has over 21 years of experience working in the telecommunication sector in various fields such as Public Relations, Sales, Marketing and Customer Service. She joined Safaricom in November 2000 as a Retail Shop Manager and has held various roles, including Care Centre Operations Manager, Senior Manager – Retail Rollout & Support and Head of Department – Retail Channels. Prior to joining Safaricom, Jannet was the Head of Sales, Marketing and Public Relations at Gilgil Telecommunication, then a subsidiary of Telkom Kenya.
Jannet has implemented various initiatives that have brought significant improvements in both retail and customer care operations. She holds a Masters of Business Administration Degree in Strategy from the University of Nairobi and a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Economics and Sociology from Egerton University. Jannet is an alumna of Strathmore Business School (SBS) where she undertook a Program for Management Development (PMD) and an Advanced
Management Development Program (AMP).