NAIROBI, November 20 – The Nairobi Stock Exchange (NSE) Board of Directors has appointed Peter Mwangi as its new Chief Executive Officer.
Mr Mwangi who’s the immediate former Managing Director of Centum Investments replaces Chris Mwebesa whose resignation from the bourse was leaked to the media on Wednesday.
NSE Chairman James Wangunyu told a press briefing that after an intensive recruitment process conducted by Deloitte Consulting, Mr Mwangi, 39, was selected for his credentials that are critical for the continued sustainable growth of the bourse.
“Mr Mwangi is also well known in the investment circles and has extensive experience that is critical to the entire market at this particular juncture,” said Mr Wangunyu while assuring the incoming Chief Executive of the board’s support.
The new CEO holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Nairobi. He is also a Certified Public Accountant and a Certified Public Secretary.
He joined Centum Investment, then ICDC Investment Company in 2000 as the Investment Manager and Company Secretary after which he was appointed the Managing Director in 2004.
While admitting that the market had grown substantially in the last few years, Mr Mwangi pledged to increase the number of transactions issued at the NSE as well as restore investor confidence.
He said he would oversee the implementation of various reform programs such demutualisation that are currently being undertaken to improve the bourse’s operations.
“I come in at a time when there is a lot of reason to be optimistic, so I am very confident in the future of the market. We will carry on with the programs that are on going and try to build and attract more participation of our local investors in our capital markets,” he assured.
He said demutualisation would be top on his agenda but added that they would be working together with Mr Mwebesa who leaves at the end of December, to ensure a smooth transition.
“It will be a seamless transition. Chris (Mwebesa) has done an excellent job. My role now is to carry on with the task of building a bigger, stronger and better exchange,” he added.
On his part Mr Mwebesa said there was no bad blood between him and the board adding that he had no regrets having worked with the NSE for six years as non–executive director and CEO.
“It might look sudden but I have been here for sometime. We have been able to achieve a lot as a team during that period and I’m proud of that,” he said.
