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On Friday evening, Equity Bank (Kenya) Limited announced that Gerald Warui, a long-serving Equity employee, was exiting as CEO of the bank on early retirement, and taking over was Moses Okoth Nyabanda, albeit in an acting capacity and subject to regulatory approval.
While Gerald, is probably well known in banking circles owing to his over three decades in the sector, Mr Nyabanda is somewhat a newcomer in the banking world, but with a wealth of experience in the financial sector having spent his entire career at PwC, a global leader in professional services consulting.
According to his LinkedIn profile, Moses joined PwC Kenya in 2001 after graduating from The University of Nairobi with a First Class Honours in his Bachelor of Commerce, Finance degree. He would rise to become a Manger at PwC Kenya in 2009, a Senior Manager in 2011 and by the time he was leaving PwC Kenya in 2016, he was already a Partner.
He joined PwC Rwanda as Managing Director and Senior Partner. He was also part of the PwC East Africa Leadership Team . He has a proven track record of leading effective teams, strategic planning, driving business growth and delivering impactful solutions to businesses and governments in Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda and the United Kingdom.
While at PwC, he was responsible for driving operational efficiency, including resource planning, digital transformation, innovation and cost management.
Mr Nyabanda joined Equity in the first quarter of 2024 as Group Chief Finance & Strategy Execution Officer. This was the first time the holding company (Equity Group Holdings Limited) was filling the position of CFO.
“At Equity Group, Mr Nyabanda is a key member of the executive team, who has demonstrated commitment to the group’s corporate philosophies and customer value creation,”says the public announcement from the lender published on Friday.
Throught his career, Mr Nyabanda has distinguished himself as a disciplined and thorough professional, demonstrating exceptional leadership in promoting robust control environments and productivity.
For clarity, this change in leadership affects Equity Bank Kenya which is one of the banking subsidiaries of Equity Group Holdings Limited. Other banking subsidiaries include, Equity Bank Tanzania, Equity Bank Uganda, Equity Bank South Sudan, Equity Bank Rwanda and Equity BCDC (DRC).
Equity Group consists of other non-banking subsidiaries such as, Equity Technology Group (Finserve & Equitel) and Equity Insurance Group (Equity Life Asurance Kenya, Equity Genral Insurance and Equity Health Insurance).
Equity also runs a foundation, the Equity Group Foundation (EGF), which implements its social impact work under six strategic pillars: Education & Leadership, Health (this is where Equity Afya falls), Energy & Environment, Enterprise Development & Financial Inclusion, Food & Agriculture and Social Protection.
Equity Group Holdings is a non-operating holding company which is still headed by the Group Managing Director and CEO, Dr James Mwangi. The holding company is responsible for strategy development and oversight over the subsidiaries.
Dr Mwangi is also the Executive Chairman of EGF.
Each of the subsidiaries and the foundation have their own separate boards and the subsidiary CEOs report to their respective boards. As Ag MD of Equity Bank Kenya, Mr Nyabanda will be reporting to the Equity Bank Kenya Limited Board, whose chairman is Amb. Erastus J.O Mwencha.
