KCB to announce insider Paul Russo as new CEO

National Bank of Kenya Managing Director Paul Russo. NMG PHOTO

By ADONIJAH NDEGE
More by this Author

Summary

• KCB Group will announce the new chief executive who is set to take over from the long-serving boss Joshua Oigara whose term expires in December.
• The lender in March quietly extended the term of Mr Oigara by a year to allow it to search for a successor.

KCB Group has picked the managing director of its subsidiary National Bank of Kenya (NBK) Paul Russo as the new chief executive, sources at the bank have confirmed to Business Daily. 

Mr Russo is a human resources management professional who has turned around NBK which KCB acquired in 2019.  

He is set to take over at the second-biggest lender by assets from the long-serving boss Joshua Oigara whose term expires in December.

Mr Russo served as the Group head of human resources before being appointed to run NBK in 2019 after KCB completed the acquisition. He also previously served at Barclays, now Absa, and audit firm PwC.

Also read: BIKO INTERVIEW: NBK boss who keeps camels

The lender in March quietly extended the term of Mr Oigara by a year to allow it to search for a successor.

The extension, until December 31, was the second extension for the 47-year-old who earlier said he was open to ending his nine-year term end of last year.

Read: KCB quietly extends CEO Oigara’s contract by one year

Mr Oigara was first appointed to the position in January 2013.

His term has been the most rewarding, benefiting from the performance-based pay that has cemented his position among Kenya’s top-paid executives.

KCB, which also operates in neighbouring Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi and South Sudan, has returned double-digit profit growth for most years since he was hired.

He has more than tripled the bank’s asset value from Sh390 billion in 2012 to Sh1.22 trillion.

The bank’s net profit stood at Sh34.2.6 billion in 2021 from Sh19.6 billion a year, rising from Sh14.3 billion in 2013.