Who leads us

Peter is the CEO of Safaricom PLC, a leading communications company in Africa and pioneer of M-PESA, the world’s most developed mobile payment system. Peter is the first Kenyan to serve as a CEO of Safaricom.

He is an experienced board-level leader with a wealth of experience in general management, commercial and business strategy, sales and finance operations, having spent over 25 years in various roles within the financial services and fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sectors in Africa and Europe.

In his most recent rolw, Peter was responsible for Diageo PLC operations in 50 countries in Western and Eastern Europe, Russia, the Middle East, and North Africa regions. Previously, he served as CEO in Guinness Nigeria PLC and Guinness Ghana Breweries PLC, transforming the two operations to deliver double-digit growth by investing in people, introducing new brands and reorganizing the businesses. As a chief executive in several markets within the Diageo group, Peter demonstrated the ability to transform businesses and organizations to deliver superior results.

Peter served for eight years across a range of senior Executive Director roles at East Africa Breweries Limited (EABL) (a Diageo subsidiary) based in Nairobi. Serving as the Group CFO, group Strategy Director, sales Director, and as an Executive Director on the EABL board, he was part of the team that saw the EABL business more than double in value – and winning the coveted Most Respected Business Award in East Africa for five years in a row.

Peter is credited with the development of an affordable beer strategy for EABL, resulting in the production of new brands such as Senator beer which became one of the of the most successful innovations by Diageo.

He has a real passion for delivering value to customers (with his principle of customer first), investing in talent, and getting things done. He started his career at PwC, the global consulting firm, where he worked for 11 years. Peter draws his inspiration from his early upbringing, laying the foundations for his strong value set, from his teachers and the legendary Dr Geoffrey Griffin – the late founder of Starehe Boys Centre – his alma mater, and from his parents.

Dilip, who joined Safaricom as the Chief Finance Officer in November 2020, has more than 31 years of experience in finance, spanning various industries including telecoms, financial services, fast-moving FMCG and Engineering in international and multi-cultural environments. Dilip has a proven track record of building competent teams, improving performance, business turnaround, simplification, and digitisation.

His division is responsible for the overall financial planning, management, and oversight of the organisation.

Previously, he was the CFO of DTAC Thailand, a part of the Telenor Group, since 2017. Prior to DTAC, he was the CFO of Grameenphone Bangladesh, a role that he held for three years. Before Grameenphone, Dilip held various finance roles in Vodafone India in Mumbai, rising to the role of EVP Finance. He has also held senior finance roles in other organisations, namely Hutchinson Essar, Hindustan Coca Cola Beverages and Tata Tinplate.

Dilip has held board positions in various institutions including Carousell, Singapore (leading online classified company of South Asia), Tele Assets, Thailand (DTAC subsidiary), Accenture Bangladesh (joint venture of Accenture and Telenor), Indus Tower (JV with Bharti Airtel and Idea) and Vodafone Essar Spacetel Limited (Vodafone India subsidiary).

Dilip has a Master’s in Commerce from Calcutta University and a Bachelor of Commerce from Goennka College of Commerce. He is a Chartered Accountant from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and a Cost Accountant from the Institute of Cost and Works Accountants of India.

Sylvia is currently the Chief Consumer Business Officer responsible for Mobile Data, Mobile Voice, Fixed Data and Digital Services. She is also in charge of Consumer Value Management, Brand Marketing & Communications and Brand Experience.

Sylvia Mulinge was previously the Chief Customer Officer, responsible for leading Safaricom’s obsession on Customer Experience as a key differentiator of its overall company strategy. She was in charge of Consumer Business, Brand Marketing, Brand Experience, Digital Transformation, Sales & Distribution, Operations and Commercial Planning & Pricing.

She joined Safaricom in February 2006 from Unilever and rose from the role of Prepay Product manager to Head of Retail, Director of Enterprise Business before transitioning to manage the Consumer Business as Director of Consumer Business, a role she held for 3 years before transitioning to her current role as Chief Customer Officer. She has held various leadership roles for the last 8 years.

A mentor and a leader in both her private and professional life, Sylvia is the recipient of several awards, which include her appointment to the Presidential Award Scheme, being named one of Kenya’s Top 40 under 40 Women for three consecutive years and a Young Global Leader (YGL) award recipient in 2015. She also sits on a number of Local Boards and is a Vice Chair of the UN Women Unstereotype Alliance.

Sitoyo Lopokoiyit is the Managing Director, M-PESA Africa and acting Chief Financial Services Officer at Safaricom.

He joined Safaricom PLC on 1st April 2018, having previously served as M-Commerce Director at Vodacom Tanzania PLC Ltd from October 2015. As the Chief Financial Services Officer, he is responsible for growing M-PESA to a fully-fledged financial platform. He is in charge of New Business Ventures, Product Management & Development for both Consumer and Enterprise.

During his time at Vodacom, he oversaw the delivery of several transformative products and services; led the turnaround strategy and execution for M-PESA which has resulted in an accelerated growth of M-PESA in Tanzania. Some of the initiatives he led include; delivery of G2 platform, M-PESA APP, interoperable transactions for both peer to peer transfers and merchant payments, Business to Business payments, M-PESA CVM and Merchant Payments.

Prior to joining Vodacom Tanzania PLC, he was the Head M-PESA Strategy and Business Development at Safaricom.

Sitoyo has over 10 years’ senior managerial experience from different fields; oil & Gas (Chevron and Total Kenya Ltd) and in the Retail industry with Uchumi supermarkets in Kenya. He has worked extensively in the East Africa Region as well as in Mauritius and Reunion.

Paul Kasimu, the Chief Human Resources Officer, is a passionate HR professional and an accredited Executive Coach. He has expertise in implementing HR Strategy, leadership and talent development, and employer branding. Paul has experience across Africa and the UK in the public sector, financial, airline, FMCG, and telecoms sectors.

He is responsible for talent and organizational effectiveness. Paul oversees Talent Acquisition & Capability, Corporate Centres, Essential Services & Facilities, Health, Safety & Wellness and responsible for driving the Corporate Culture.

Paul joined Safaricom in July 2017 from the East African Breweries where he was the Group HR Director, a role he held since May 2011. He held similar roles, for a combined 9 years, at Kenya Airways and Barclays Bank.

Paul was the Chairman of the Institute of Human Resource Management in Kenya for 7 years (2008 to 2015) and led in the enactment of the 2012 Human Resources Professionals Act. Some of his accolade includes being named the Manager of the Year at the Company of the Year Awards (COYA) in Kenya (2008).

Nicholas Mulila is the Chief Corporate Security Officer at Safaricom PLC responsible for the Business Risk Management Strategy, Cyber Security Management, Revenue Assurance, AML/CTF Program, Insurance, Ethics & Compliance and Physical Security.

He joined Safaricom in 2001 as a Senior Management Accountant in the Finance Division and has risen steadily through the ranks to serve the company in various capacities including Principal Business Planning & Forecasting Accountant, Head of Corporate Strategy, Head of Commercial Planning & Pricing, Executive Business Analyst, Director Risk Management and is currently Chief Corporate Security Officer.

Nicholas has 20 years’ experience in Strategy Formulation and Execution, Financial Management, Business Analysis, Risk Management and Corporate Governance.

Prior to joining Safaricom, Nicholas had worked for General Motors (EA) and Eastern Produce (K) Ltd., where he held various positions in Finance.

Morten, the Chief Technology Information Officer, has over 26 years of experience in various roles in the telecommunications industry. He will head the newly created Technology and Information organisation.

He joined Safaricom in January 2021 from Maxis, Malaysia—the country’s largest mobile operator—where he worked for six years (2014-2020). At Maxis as the CTIO, Morten was responsible for the development and operations of the Maxis telecommunications and IT networks. He was instrumental in planning and leading large IT transformation projects, the building of enterprise fibre network, cybersecurity and cloud and network digitalisation.

Before Maxis, Morten was at TDC Denmark—a Danish telecommunications company—for a decade where he was responsible for planning, designing and building mobile, fixed and coax networks. He joined TDC in 2004 as a Strategy Consultant and Head of Market Support. While at TDC, Morten became the Vice President Head of Network Development and Strategy in 2007; he would later be appointed Executive VP and CIO in 2008, VP Technology & IT in 2013 and Senior VP Network Planning and Build, a role he held until he joined Maxis in 2014. Before working at TDC in 2004, Morten held several roles at Ericsson Denmark, Sweden and the UK for 10 years.

Nicholas is the Chief Channels Officer, responsible for sales and distribution as well as all customer care and retail centres. He is also responsible for market development, regional sales and operations, terminals and the management of our dealers and agents.

Nicholas was previously the Franchise Director at Coca Cola, Nigeria.

He has over 23 years’ experience in finance and commercial roles across various local and international corporations. His career begun in the United Kingdom at Carluccio’s, Searcy Tansley & Co. where he started in an accounting role before growing to the role of Financial Controller. He then transitioned to Medicsight Inc. where he held a similar role.

Nicholas then joined Coca Cola Beverages Africa (CCBA) where he was Finance Director in Uganda then Mozambique. In 2011, he was promoted to Sales and Marketing Director at CCBA Kenya, a role he held till May 2013. Upon leaving CCBA, he joined Carlsberg Kenya as the General Manager from 2013 to 2016, when he joined Sema Mobile. In 2018, he joined Coca Cola, Nigeria as Franchise Director.

Stephen is responsible for Safaricom’s reputation management, public policy, legal and regulatory affairs. He is in charge of steering the development and implementation of Safaricom’s corporate investment strategy as well as overseeing internal and external communications. He also leads the development of a roadmap that will embed purpose in everything we do at Safaricom and among our stakeholders.

Stephen has more than 27 years of cumulative legal experience. He joined Safaricom from Kiptinness & Odhiambo Associates LLP where he was a Senior Partner heading the Technology and Intellectual Property practice for the last 10 years. Before starting his practice, Stephen worked at Telkom Kenya Orange, heading Regulatory Affairs for 3 years, from 2009 to 2012.

Prior to his role at Telkom Orange, he held various legal roles including Legal Officer and subsequently Senior Legal Officer at the Communications Authority of Kenya, and Legal Manager at the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation, having commenced his legal career as a Trainee Advocate at Oraro & Co. Advocates. Stephen also teaches at the University of Nairobi School of Law.

Stephen is an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya, a Member of the Law Society of Kenya and is a Certified Public Secretary with Institute of Certified Secretaries.

Michael leads Safaricom’s business development and transformation agenda. He is responsible for Strategic Partnerships, Mergers and Acquisitions, Safaricom’s funding strategy and asset optimization.

With over 20 years’ experience in Corporate and Investment Banking, Michael joined Safaricom from Citibank where he was a Managing Director and Head of Corporate Finance for Sub-Saharan Africa from 2019. Prior to this role, he was head of Corporate and Investment Banking for Citibank Kenya and was appointed a Senior Credit Officer in 2018. Michael was with Citibank for 15 years and has held various senior local and regional leadership roles.

Prior to joining Citibank, Michael worked in Barclays/Absa Capital, where he grew from a Management Associate to the Regional Coverage Head – East Africa, Investment Banking Division Africa, a role he held until he joined Citibank in 2006.

Through his career, Michael has managed numerous significant transactions, earning him ‘Corporate Banker of the Year’ 5 separate times at the Annual Banking awards, as well as leading his team to winning ‘Corporate Bank of the Year’ in Kenya a similar number of times, amongst other industry recognitions. He was also listed for three years as a Top 40 under 40.

Anwar comes with a wealth of international cross-functional experience in the telecommunications industry with a special focus on countries with an emerging telecoms sector.

He was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Safaricom Ethiopia in July 2021 reporting to the Board of Safaricom Telecommunication Ethiopia PLC. Anwar leads the executive leadership team with the goal of helping bring about transformational economic and social impact as well as positively affect the lives of over 112 million people with enhanced communication technologies and world class mobile financial services.

Before joining Safaricom Telecommunications Ethiopia PLC as the CEO, he managed Vodacom DRC and was the Chairperson of Vodacash (M-PESA) since 2017.

Anwar cemented Vodacom DRC as the largest Vodacom operation outside of South Africa by driving major strides in operational performance, crossing the $500M USD in service revenue mark for the first time in 2020.

Prior to joining Vodacom DRC, Anwar served as the Chief Executive Officer of Airtel in Uganda and Chad. He has also worked in various senior leadership capacities at MTN and Digicel, as well as with other international telecom operators.

Anwar holds a Master’s degree in Marketing from Concordia University in Montreal, Canada and a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the American College of Greece (Deree).

Paul, prior to joining Safaricom Ethiopia, was the Head of M-PESA new Business Ventures at Safaricom PLC. He has 19 years of progressive experience in mobile money innovation, strategy formulation and execution, performance change management and negotiation across financial services, telecom, and banking industries.

He joined Safaricom in 2002 from Absa Bank, formerly Barclays Bank of Kenya. Paul holds a Bachelor of Commerce Degree from the University of Nairobi, is a Certified Public Accountant of Kenya, CPA (K) and Certified Oxford Fintech Program alumni.

She has over 20 years’ experience in the telecommunications industry within senior leadership in the legal and compliance functions as well as in the Human Resources area. She has a particular interest in legal compliance, quality management, internal audit, money laundering and financial crime management. Julie joined Vodacom in 2006 and has held various roles across the organisation including in group compliance, legal and human resources.

She holds a BA and LLB degree from the University of KZN, an LLM degree from the University of South Africa and a Higher Diploma in Computer Auditing from the University of the Witwatersrand. Julie is also a Certified Quality Auditor with the American Society for Quality and a certified coach with the NeuroLeadership Institute.

Mokaya has 17 years’ experience in multiple HR core competency areas. These include Talent Management, Capability Development, Organizational Effectiveness, HR Business Partnership and Digital & Agile Change Management.

Mokaya joined Safaricom in 2007 in the HR function where he worked in various roles within the Capability Development & Recruitment function. In 2014, he took on a two-year assignment in Vodafone India as the Head of Organizational Effectiveness & Change Management. He later returned to Safaricom Limited PLC where he was the Head of Talent, Capability and Recruitment. In 2018, Mokaya moved to support the Commercial function as the Head HR Business Partner, a role he held until he was seconded to Safaricom Ethiopia as the Chief Human Resource Officer in 2021.

Mokaya holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of Nairobi. He is a member of the Institute of Human Resource Management and an International Coaching Federation (ICF) certified coach.

Chris has been part of Vodacom South Africa since 2005 as the Managing Executive for KwaZulu Natal Region, where he held various roles within the Consumer and Enterprise Business Units.

He has over two decades of experience in the Information and Communications Technology and Financial Services sectors.

Chris has an MBA from Henley Business School (UK), Advanced Executive Programme with the University of South Africa and Telecoms Certification from the North-West University (South Africa).

Koichi has spent close to 30 years in Sumitomo Corporation taking on increasingly larger and varied management roles in the telecom companies in the emerging markets invested by Sumitomo Corporation.

He was appointed as Director of the Project Management Office of Safaricom Ethiopia in July 2021 and has been working together with other leadership toward the first critical milestone of the service launch, by supporting and monitoring the critical programs and projects across all the functions.

His experience in the emerging markets is represented by Chief Strategy Officer to Acting Chief Executive Officer in the largest telecommunication operator in Mongolia, called MobiCom Corporation, and Chief Commercial Officer in the largest telecommunication operator in Myanmar, called Myanmar Posts & Telecommunications, both affiliated companies of Sumitomo Corporation.

He has also led Digital and Fintech investment projects in Malaysia and Myanmar, and in his most recent assignment, was a Board member of the largest mobile distributor in Japan, and Executive Vice President and Board member of a device lifecycle management start-up company.

Koichi holds a bachelor’s degree in economy from Aoyama Gakuin University in Japan.

Charles has over 19 years of commercial experience gained working for Multinationals focused on Sub-Saharan Africa, he carries a broad international perspective having worked in Kenya, South Africa, Bahrain, and experience working with 17 geographies across Sub-Saharan Africa.

His telco career spans more than 15 years across Celtel Kenya, Zain Kenya, Zain Group, Airtel Africa, Airtel Kenya, and Safaricom PLC, where he was the Director of Consumer Business. He also has proven capabilities in Telco Commercial Strategy & planning, transforming organizations from Product focus to Consumer segments focus, Shaping, creating, and managing high-performing Agile commercial organizations, Accelerating Data and Digital transformation, Telco pricing & Analytics Strategy.

Charles has a bachelor’s degree in Commerce, is a Certified Public Accountant, and is an alumnus of the Vodafone Inspire Leadership program.

Andarge has over 20 years’ experience in various sectors in Ethiopia including FMCG, oil & gas, and financial institutions have worked with the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia, Shell, and Diageo in different senior roles.

He was the Commercial Operations and Sales Transformation Manager at Diageo – Meta Abo Brewery and a member of the Company’s Leadership Team.

Andarge holds a Degree in Accounting from Addis Ababa University and a master’s degree in Business Administration (MBA) from Indra Gandhi National Open University, India.