Left:Safaricom Board Chairman Nicholas Nganga and Outgoing CEO Michael Joseph at a past function. Joseph will remain in the Safaricom Board for two years.
Nairobi, 22 July 2010 | Safaricom CEO Michael Joseph is set to retire on 1st November this year. While announcing the move, Nicholas Nganga, Safaricom Board Chairman, said that Joseph will be replaced by Vodafone’s Bob Collymore, 52, who has worked in the telecommunications industry for more than 30 years in a variety of roles including that of Global Purchasing Director in Vodafone and Consumer Marketing Director for Asia based in Japan.
“The leadership change comes at a time of great strength of Safaricom. We owe Joseph a huge debt of gratitude for his leadership and the passion he has for Safaricom. Indeed it would be difficult to overstate his contribution to the company over the past decade,” say Nganga. “With his spirit, he has led an organization devoted to making Safaricom the success it is today.”
Among his many achievements, Joseph has positioned Safaricom on a platform of innovation and drive and brought technology to almost each and every household in Kenya. He also played a pivotal role in the Safaricom IP in which we saw over 800,000 Kenyans become shareholders of Kenya’s most profitable company.
“I am very proud of what we have accomplished as a team, in particular our achievements to become market leader, our extensive corporate social responsibility programme and the numerous innovative products and services we have introduced to the Kenyan market,” says Joseph. “It has been an extremely exciting ten years and has been a great honour to work with such a talented and committed team and indeed with the over 16m Kenyans who believed in the brand and have made Safaricom what it is today.” Joseph will stay on both the Safaricom and Vodacom board in an advisory role for the next two years.
In 2009, Collymore joined the Vodacom management team as Chief Officer for Corporate Affairs. He has been on the board of Safaricom for the past four years and sits on the boards of a number of Vodacom’s subsidiary companies in Africa. “It’s been a privilege for me to have sat on the board of Safaricom and watch its unfolding success. Under Michael’s leadership, the company has seen tremendous growth,” he says.
Prior to joining Vodafone, Collymore worked with the retail giant, Dixons Stores Group, the cellular operator O2 and BT in the UK. “He has been a truly exceptional CEO and whilst I am delighted to have been appointed as his successor, I fully appreciate that Michael’s will be a hard act to follow.”
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