According Business Daily, Safaricom’s chief executive Bob Collymore, is planning to step down this August 2019. His decision, is as a result of health reasons.
He had taken a nine-month medical leave in late 2017 to return to his native England to battle cancer,
A source, speaking on the condition of anonymity as there has been no official announcement said “He wants to concentrate on his health so he did not wish to renew his contract,”.
Collymore told Reuters on Monday he was still in discussions with the board, adding it would make announcements on the chief executive position at a later date.
“I have every confidence that whether I’m here or not, that this company will run … This is an institution. It is not a company which is just ran by a single person,” he said.
Two company sources claim the Kenyan government’s insistence that Bob Collymore successor must be a Kenyan, has delayed announcing a replacement.
One source said the company’s board, interviewed candidates, including a senior Kenyan banking executive, before deciding on an unidentified foreign national from within the Vodafone group to succeed Collymore.
The government has however objected, citing an agreement adopted at a shareholder meeting in 2017, supporting the appointment of a Kenyan as CEO.
A source with knowledge of the succession process; “The state has said ‘no’. They might have to negotiate,”.
Minister for Information Communication and Technology Joe Mucheru, said there had been no formal communication from the company on Collymore’s successor.
He however, added that he would be surprised if the board could not find a Kenyan to run the company, adding that part of Collymore’s remit was to groom a local successor.
Talking to Reuters, Mr. Mucheru said; “I would be very surprised if they can’t find a Kenyan. It will be hard for them to justify, what is so special about telecoms?”.
Collymore, who made it known that he had acquired Kenyan citizenship in recent years (Kenyan law allows dual-nationality), said skills were more important than nationality, adding that “You have to get the right person for the job. It might be a Kenyan, it might not be a Kenyan,”.
Bob Collymore helped build Safaricom into East Africa’s most profitable company, thanks to the very popular mobile money transfer service M-Pesa and a constantly growing customer base.
During his tenure, Safaricom’s share price also increased by more than 400 percent to 28.00 Kenyan shillings ($0.28).
In addition the Safaricom head, led the charge against regulatory efforts to clip the company’s wings due to its dominant size.
Safaricom, which is 35 percent owned by South Africa’s Vodacom, controls about 62 percent of Kenya’s mobile market, with 30 million subscribers.
Britain’s Vodafone has a 5 percent stake, while the Kenyan government has 35 percent.
Private investors also own shares via the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE).
Safaricom, is expected to report its financial results for the year to the end of March on May 3rd 2019.
The company is yet to comment on Mr. Collymore’s departure.
