Michael Joseph: Why I stepped down as Safaricom Board Chairman

In a statement issued on Friday after the announcement of Mr. John Ngumi as the new chairman, Michael Joseph, who remains a Board Director at Safaricom, said he will be focusing on supporting Safaricom's investment in Ethiopia as well as working towards restructuring national carrier Kenya Airways towards profitability.

"I want to devote more time to supporting Safaricom's investment in Ethiopia and relinquishing the role of Chairman allows me the flexibility and freedom to undertake this important role on behalf of Safaricom," he said

"This will also allow me to devote more time to Kenya Airways during this critical time to ensure that we continue the work of restructuring and refinancing for KQ to remain on the journey towards profitability in the next 2 years."

Joseph further stated that he will be devoting time towards the creation of the Pan African Airline Group which he says is important for the African continent to ensure connectivity as well as reliable and affordable air transport.

"While there is indeed a right time in any man or woman's life to take a step back from business and devote more time to enjoying life, in my case, this will probably not happen yet as I will continue to participate in other interesting business opportunities available," he said.

At the same time, he pointed out that this was the right moment to exit the chairmanship position, after overseeing a smooth transition following the entry of Peter Ndegwa as Safaricom CEO.

"Prior to making this decision, I consulted widely including discussions with our main shareholders, the Government of Kenya, Vodacom and Vodafone, the Board and of course with Peter, our CEO," he said.

Michael Joseph has been part of Safaricom since its inception having served as the founding CEO, then Board Director, back to CEO on the untimely death of the late Bob Collymore and finally as Chairman of the Board upon the retirement of our previous Chairman, Nicholas Nganga.

Michael Joseph is currently the Chair of Kenya Airways Board having recently landed a new three-term that will see him serve until 2025.