Benson Wairegi to Exit as Britam CEO in December after 40 years at the Helm

Britam chief executive, Benson Wairegi, will depart this December after forty years in the financial services company, making him the longest-serving CEO.

Mr Wairegi, 67, told the Business Daily that he will not seek a new term when his three-year contract ends in December 2020 and “the board is seized of the matter” and “have started a search for my successor.”

Mr. Wairegi’s successor may be from within or outside Britam but “that’s now for the board to decide.”

The search for his successor started “two years ago.”

The outgoing CEO’s contract does not provide for pension but contains gradual gratuity payments, which amounted to Sh18.22 million last year and Sh17.12 million in 2018, according to the firm’s latest annual report.

Mr Wairegi is credited with shepherding the listing of the firm at the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) in July 2011, helping its founders, including Jimnah Mbaru and Peter Munga to reduce their stake, earning hundreds of millions of shillings from the disposals.

“We are sitting on a fantastic platform for growth through the investments that we have made in people and systems, and the support of institutional investors,” Mr Wairegi said adding that “Britam is poised for the next phase of rapid growth through tech-enabled solutions, and I have every confidence the organisation will continue to grow; never mind the short-term challenges presented by the stock market. The core business remains strong.”

Wairegi will become the second long-serving top official to step down from executive roles at the Britam in about a year after Stephen Wandera, the former principal executive director, retired after 26 years of service late 2019.