The Equity Group Board has appointed Professor Isaac Macharia as the Board Chairman taking over from David Ansell who did not offer himself for re-election at the 16 th Equity Group Holdings Plc Annual General Meeting held on June 30th 2020.
David Ansell is a long-time global banker. In Africa he served as Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director at Ecobank Transnational Inc. and as the Regional Director for Citibank in Kenya. Prior to becoming Equity Group Holdings Board Chair, David served the Company on the subsidiary Boards of Equity Bank Tanzania, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Uganda and Rwanda where he also served as the Board Chairman. He is the second Chairman of Equity Group Holdings Board having taken over from the Founding Chairman Dr. Peter Munga.
Isaac Macharia is a professor of ENT (Ear, Nose and Throat), Head and Neck Surgery at the University of Nairobiand holds a distinguished career in the medical field including holding leadership positions in international professional organisations and consulting for WHO in his area of speciality.
He joined Equity Bank Kenya Board in 2015 and became the Chair in 2017. In this role, Professor Macharia has demonstrated his passion and commitment to the Equity vision of championing the social economic prosperity of the people of Africa. When the prevailing COVID-19 crisis was declared a global pandemic, Professor Macharia led the Equity Bank Kenya Board in donating Ksh 300Million to match a similar amount donated by the family of Dr. James Mwangi and Ksh 500Million from Mastercard Foundation towards a mobilisation effort by Equity Group Foundation (EGF) that raised a total of Ksh 1.1 Billion.
Professor Macharia has benefitted from the mentorship of both Dr. Peter Munga (Founder Chairman of Equity Group Holdings) and David Ansell (Outgoing Chairman). During his tenure as Chairman of Equity Bank Kenya, he oversaw the restructuring of Equity Bank Kenya to become a subsidiary of Equity Group Holdings. Equity Bank Kenya continued to register impressive performance despite a difficult operating environment following the capping of interest rates in September 2016 by the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK).
Professor Macharia had this to say, “I thank David Ansell for his capable and adept leadership of the Board. During his tenure, the Board has been guided to support the Company and its goals to achieve excellence in both profitability and purpose and it has exceeded expectations. I want to acknowledge that my tenure begins at a very unprecedented time in the history of our world. There is no playbook for the uncertainty we now find ourselves in, but we do have the capability in our hands to think strategically and act deliberately to ensure that the Company and our stakeholders strive to achieve the excellence we are known for, and the stability and focus we need not only to come out COVID-19 successfully but to thrive thereafter.”