Martin Oduor – Otieno, the new chairman of Kenya Breweries Limited and UDV (Kenya) Limited which are both subsidiaries of EABL Group, has taken over the mantle of the top brewer from Charles Muchene who completed his maximum tenure of nine years allowed for independent directors as per the Corporate Governance Code issued by the Capital Markets Authority.
The former KCB Group CEO and an ex-Treasury principal secretary is among the finest; an accomplished business leader, having worked more recently with Deloitte East Africa as Partner among other senior private sector appointments. Currently, he is an independent leadership and governance advisor as well as an executive coach. His tenure starts in January 1, 2020.
His work experience and even natural attributes are important as far as expansion of the company is concerned. He is coming at a time when the Group has invested over Sh40 billion in capital expenditure in its subsidiaries across East Africa among them the establishment of a brewery in Kisumu valued at Sh14 billion and a spirits line in Ruaraka, Nairobi, worth Sh900 million.
The KBL Kisumu brewery, whose construction commenced in mid-2017, has resulted in an increase of the company’s contracted sorghum farmers to 47,000 in Kenya and the creation of 100,000 jobs both directly and indirectly. Bottom-line is: Mr Otieno is expected to continue with the growth tempo set by Mr Muchene.
An alumnus of the prestigious Harvard Business School with an Executive MBA from ESAMI/Maastrich as well as an undergraduate Commerce degree from the University of Nairobi, it is not a secret that he will make a huge strategic contribution going forward. He also holds an honorary Doctor of Business Leadership degree from KCA University.
Before joining KCB, Otieno worked for Barclays Bank for more than four years, where his roles included being head of reporting and compliance for the bank’s Africa Regional office in Johannesburg.
