KCB Group, a financial services firm, has named Paul Russo as its new Chief Executive Officer, effective May 25, succeeding Joshua Oigara, who has held the position since 2013.
According to a statement from the lender’s board, Oigara will leave the Group after his contract expires, but will remain for a period of time to assist with the transition.
“The Board acknowledges Oigara’s immense contribution in driving the growth of the Group business over the decade. He has been instrumental in deepening financial inclusion and social impact across East Africa,” the KCB Group Chairman, Andrew Kairu said in a statement.
Paul, who succeeds Oigara, brings extensive experience in banking, operational management, people management strategy, and sharp business acumen.
His most recent position in the group was as Managing Director of National Bank of Kenya, which was acquired by KCB in 2019.
He has over 20 years of experience in executive and key positions, including Group HR Director.
Russo is a Strathmore Business School MBA and Moi University Business Management graduate. He also has a Harvard Business School certificate in the senior executive program for Africa and a higher diploma in human resource management from the Institute of Human Resources Kenya.
“The Board congratulates Paul for the appointment and is confident that he will ably steer the Group’s future growth ambitions,” said Kairu.
Mr Oigara’s term was quietly extended by the lender in March to allow it to search for a successor.
The extension, until December 31, was the second for the 47-year-old, who had previously stated that he was willing to end his nine-year term at the end of last year.
Oigara has steadily guided KCB over the last nine years and five months, taking the lender from a profit of Sh14.3 billion in 2013, when it registered a 17 percent profit, to a net profit of Sh34.2 billion as of December 31, 2021, riding on a global economic recovery.
His tenure has been the most fruitful, with performance-based pay cementing his place among Kenya’s highest-paid executives.
Since his hiring, KCB, which also operates in neighboring Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, and South Sudan, has produced double-digit profit growth in the majority of years.