After leading Kenya’s first mobile phone servic provider, Safaricom, for 11years, Michael Joseph’s eyes are still set on big things. Currently the new Chairman of the national carrier, Kenya Airways (coming in after his predecessor Dennis Awori was forced to resign when the Pride of Africa Pilots Association threatened to strike to force him out), he is expected to make things happen for an airline under pressure from both the shareholders and members of the public as far as growth is concerned.
Joseph took over as chairman weeks after joining KQ as a director in its board with an aim of assuring the effectiveness of the airline’s turnaround plan after it made loses of close to Sh50billion in the last two financial years. That was late last year. With his level of professionalism and experience in leadership and management, he is expected to take the national carrier back to its old glory as the “Pride of Africa” slogan goes. His first priority is mainly to restructure the financing of the national carrier, as that is the most strategic starting point.
After his amazing achievement at Safaricom, he went on to work in senior management as the Managing Director of mobile money at Vodafone. On the other hand, before joining Safaricom as the Chief Executive, he worked as a Consultant in Vodafone at both the South Africa and Hungary branches. Apart from being a consultant for World Bank on matters related to financial inclusivity, he was at one time appointed Maseno University chancellor by President Uhuru Kenyatta. He previously held the position of Director and Senior Vice President at GTE wireless and IWC respectively.
The holder of a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from the University of Cape Town has tough times ahead. It is not yet a lost cause to turnaround the operations of the airline as people abreast with his style believe he will be able to emulate his past success at Safaricom.
