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Safaricom has appointed Edward Okaro as an Independent Non-Executive Director, effective January 15, 2025.
The appointment was announced by Acting Company Secretary Linda Mesa on Thursday, following the resignation of Rose Ogega on November 29, 2024, who had served in the role since February 12, 2019. The Safaricom Board expressed confidence in Okaro’s abilities.
Okaro, an experienced audit professional with over 30 years in financial management, audit, and strategic risk management, previously worked at Ernst & Young for 26 years, rising to the positions of Director and Partner in their Africa Risk Services division. He holds a Master’s in Business Administration from Manchester Business School and a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Nairobi. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Kenya (FCPA) and a Member of the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA).
With Okaro’s appointment, Safaricom now has three Independent Non-Executive Directors on its Board. The other members are Prof. Bitange Ndemo, former Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Information and Communication and Kenya’s Ambassador to Belgium and the EU, and Winnie Ouko, CEO of Lattice Consulting, a strategy and financial advisory firm. Ouko joined the Board on February 10, 2021, bringing over 25 years of experience in finance, strategy, and board-level advisory for companies and non-profits in Africa, Europe, and the US.
The role of Independent Non-Executive Directors is to offer external perspectives, challenge the company’s strategy and performance constructively, and ensure that the company’s financial reporting, controls, and risk management systems are accurate and robust. They also oversee management performance against agreed goals.
