Tourism, Leisure & Hospitality winner, Jeremiah Mutisya(CEO Basecamp Explorer Kenya) & Alister Swart(COO BlackBark Productions)
Kenya’s young and talented individuals from various business sectors were feted and celebrated at the annual CfC Stanbic Bank Rising StarAwards, held at the Villa Rosa Kempinski in Nairobi.
Now in its second year in Kenya, and featuring respected judges including Dr. Manu Chandaria (CEO Comcraft Group), Alan Cassels (MD DHL EA) and Nick Mruttu (Country Manager, Kenya Coca-Cola), the 2015 CfC Stanbic Bank Rising Star Awards – in partnership with USB-ED – was established to recognize, celebrate and connect young, talented individuals, in an effort to raise awareness of Kenya’s talent, as well as increase the sector talent pools.
10 young leaders emerged winners in different categories:
- Nimo Abdullahi Hussein of KenGen for the Construction, Energy & Chemicals sector
- Emily Thaara Njuki of Smart Solutions Africa for the Entrepreneur sector
- Wilson Obwatinya of Real People for the Banking & Financial Services sector
- Jeremiah Mutisya from Basecamp Explorer for the Hospitality & Tourism sector
- Waithera Ng’ang’a from the Marketing Society of Kenya for the Media & Marketing sector
- Phyllis Migwi of IBM East Africa for the ICT sector
- Noelle Kamau from DHL Express for the Logistics & Supply Chain sector
- Anne Kiunuhe from Anjarwalla & Khanna Advocates for the Professional Services sector
- Angela Kabari from The School Series Programme for the Service: Public & Private sector
- Daniel Njuguna of East African Breweries for the Manufacturing, Retail & FMCG sector
The 10 were picked in a list of 50 finalists, who are professionals under the age of 40 from a range of different professions. They went through a vigorous final judging process, which resulted in the identification of the Rising Star for each of the 10 business sectors.
CfC Stanbic Bank Chief Executive Philip Odera lauded the winners and challenged them to lead the way in transforming the country.
“We had an excellent field of applicants this year which is a testament to the excellent work and outstanding commitment of the nominees to both their employers and relevant sectors. I hope that this recognition re-energizes them towards achieving greater success in their work place and consequently help in building our nation.”
Laura Barker, Managing Director for BlackBark Productions, organizers of the Rising Star Programme, says that the awards follow a rigorous judging process to ensure that real talent is unearthed.
Candidates entering the process complete an online self-assessment. Those with the top scores are then asked to complete a 180 degree assessment – with information from a manager assessed as well. These combined scores result in the top 5; the finalists and our Rising Stars. These Stars are then invited for a 2-hour interview in front of industry experts drawn from the Kenyan business world. This feedback then results in the top Star in each sector being chosen.
Barker says that the talent demonstrated this year, as well as the diversity, in terms of skills sets and roles, is encouraging as it confirms the existence of talent across Kenya’s business sectors.
