Ex-Barclays Bank Tanzania boss gets top job in Kenya

Dar es Salaam. Diversified financial services firm I&M Holdings has named former Barclays Bank of Tanzania managing director Kihara Maina as chief executive officer.

I&M Holdings executive director Sarit Raja-Shah said in a statement yesterday that the appointment took effect immediately and was geared at strengthening I&M Bank Kenya’s corporate governance and human capacity.

The appointment is also part of a strategic effort by the I&M Holdings Ltd, the goup company, to accelerate I&M Bank Kenya’s drive to attain a tier one bank status on the back of innovative products and services.

Mr Maina, the immediate past Barclays Bank of Tanzania managing director, will be taking over from Mr Arun Mathur who retires after a long and fruitful career with the bank.

Mr Mathur will be assuming an advisory role within the I&M Bank Group. “At I&M Bank, we are excited to welcome Mr Maina on board, as we further seek to deepen our human resource capacity,” Mr Raja-Shah said. “This is also an exciting phase of growth for I&M Bank Kenya, as it continues to pursue an aggressive growth agenda spearheaded by a dynamic team of professional managers and robust staffers.”

Mr Maina has been in the banking sector for 23 years in various senior management positions. At I&M Bank Kenya, Mr Maina, brings a wealth of experience gained on various banking fronts including treasury management, corporate finance, risk, asset and liability management.

Commenting on his appointment, Mr Maina promised to continue to take the bank to greater heights in the years ahead.

Mr Maina holds an MBA from the University of Chicago - Booth School of Business and a BSc in Mathematics from Moi University.