Corporate News
Dominic Kiarie, outgoing UAP Holdings chief executive. PHOTO | FILE
By VICTOR JUMA, vjuma@ke.nationmedia.com
A high-stakes boardroom drama is once again playing
out in the financial services industry following last month’s
multi-billion-shilling acquisition of UAP Holdings by Old Mutual and the
subsequent appointment of Old Mutual boss Peter Mwangi as the chief executive of the merged group, edging out UAP’s Dominic Kiarie.
It was the second time Mr Kiarie missed a chance to head Old
Mutual, the first being in March 2008, when the investment firm
announced it had appointed him the new chief executive to replace
Stewart Henderson who had resigned five months earlier.
Mr Kiarie had quit his position as the managing
director of British-American Asset Managers (BAAM) to take up the new
role at Old Mutual from April 1, 2008.
But he spent only a few days on the job before going back to his position at BAAM, a unit of financial services firm Britam for what Old Mutual later said were “personal reasons.”
Mr Kiarie stayed at BAAM until July 2011
when he left for UAP Holdings where he had landed a job as deputy CEO.
He subsequently rose to become the insurance company’s chief executive,
replacing James Muguiyi who retired in December 2012.
In a twist of fate, Old Mutual recently took over
UAP Holdings — a move that culminated into the merger of the two
companies and the appointment of Mr Mwangi, Old Mutual chief executive,
as the head of the new group. Mr Kiarie has since tendered his
resignation.
Old Mutual on Thursday said Mr Kiare’s position
fell through during an ongoing restructuring that has merged previous
stand-alone businesses in Kenya with UAP.
“Of the two [Mr Kiarie and UAP-Old Mutual new CEO
Peter Mwangi], we felt Mr Mwangi has better knowledge of the two
companies,” Mr Ralph Mupita, the chief executive of Old Mutual Emerging
Markets, told the Business Daily.
Mr Mwangi has previously served on the board of UAP in his capacity as the chief executive of Centum, an investment firm that had a significant stake in the insurer.
He has also had time to familiarise himself with
Old Mutual’s business, having joined the firm in October last year after
retiring as the chief executive of the Nairobi Securities Exchange
(NSE).
Mr Kiarie, 44, could not be reached for comment by the time of going to press.
Recent communication from the company announcing
the merger and appointment of directors and executives made no mention
of Mr Kiarie, signalling that his departure may have been similar to the
2008 snub of Old Mutual.
Old Mutual executives said the merged entity will
have Mr Mwangi at the helm, with general managers, including banking,
asset management and insurance, to be appointed for the respective
business lines
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