KENYA – Investment firm Centum, has made some changes to its leadership team with the appointment of Dr. Laila Macharia as the new Vice-Chairperson of the board and Mr. Andrew Musangi as a member of the board.

Dr. Macharia joined the board of Centum Investment in October 2013 as an independent non-executive director.

Prior to her appointment as the vice-chair, she served as the leader of the nominations and governance committee as well as a member of the finance and investment, audit and risk committees.

She also serves on the boards of Centum’s subsidiaries including Centum Real Estate Limited, Vipingo Development Limited, and Pearl Marina Estates Limited.

Dr. Macharia is an established entrepreneur and investor with investments in Media, education, data analytics, and financial technology.

Dr. Macharia also the Chair of the Africa Digital Media Institute, a leading institution in training creative arts, media, and technology and a director on the board of Absa Bank Kenya.

Before joining Centum, Dr. Macharia worked as the CEO at Scion Real and as Senior regional advisor at USAID East Africa and also worked as a corporate lawyer at Kaplan & Stratton Nairobi, Clifford Chance, and Rogers & Wells in New York City.

She holds a B.A. in Planning and Public Policy from the University of Oregon, an LLM from Cornell University, and a doctorate in Law from Stanford University.

Dr. Macharia is allowed to practice law in Kenya, Maryland US, and New York US.

Mr. Andrew Musangi will serve as a non-executive director of Centum Investment Plc.

He has over 26 years of experience in legal practice and private business. He is a seasoned lawyer with a focus on litigation and commercial practice.

In addition, Andrew is a member of the Law Society of Kenya and of the Commonwealth Lawyers Association.

Andrew brings a rich experience in corporate governance to the Centum Board having served in various boards including as Chair on the board of GenAfrica Asset Managers, and as Chairman on the Public Procurement Regulatory Board.

“We have witnessed a strong recovery in performance across our portfolio companies and we hope that this recovery will not be interrupted by any unforeseen external economic shocks”

Centum Investment Board of directors welcomed the new appointees to their new roles on the board.

The giant investment company Centum Investment reported a KSh1.37 billion (US$1.26 million) full-year net loss for the period that ended on 31st March 2021, from a net profit of KSh4.6 billion (us$42.6 million) in March 2020, as it grappled with the negative effects of the covid19 crisis.

During an investor briefing, Centum CEO James Mworia said that in the last financial year the company faced several challenges that affected its bottom line.

Centum‘s biggest hurdles were its loss-making subsidiaries like Longhorn Publishers and Two Rivers Development Limited which booked a loss of KSh1.9 billion due to high finance costs associated with the development.

Centum said it expects to return to profitability in this financial year.

“We have witnessed a strong recovery in performance across our portfolio companies and we hope that this recovery will not be interrupted by any unforeseen external economic shocks,” the company noted in its financial report.

The investment company also noted that its decision to pay down the debt on the company balance sheet and increase the marketable securities portfolio has remarkably improved its resilience and enhanced its liquidity position enabling Centum to take advantage of opportunities as they emerge.

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