Standard Group Plc has appointed a new Chief Finance Officer, in the wake of its financial woes.
The listed company announced this new appointment through a statement dated December 4, 2023.
“The Board of Directors of The Standard Group Plc is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Wesley Kimosop as the Chief Finance Officer, with effect from 1st December 2023,” the statement noted, denoting the date when Wesley Kimosop took office.
Furthermore, Mr. Wesley’s vast wealth of experience was denoted in the statement.
“He has a wealth of professional experience spanning over 17 years in the banking sector where he rose through the ranks to senior management responsible for designing and implementing strategies to achieve business targets, financial controls and processes, budgeting, compliance and operating controls,” Standard Group noted.
Wesley Kimosop Profile
Of note, he joined the Standard Group PLC from Access Bank (Kenya) PLC, where he was a Senior Manager in charge of Compliance & Operating Controls as well as Head of Retail Banking.
Also Read: Standard Group Journalist Exposes Managers as Crisis Deepens
Prior to his stint at Access Bank, he had worked with key lenders in Kenya such NCBA Bank and Diamond Trust Bank where he served in various capacities.
Wesley Kimosop holds a Bachelor of Commerce Degree from the University of Nairobi.
Further, he is also a Certified Public Accountant (CPA-K), and a member of ICPAK and is currently pursuing a Master of Science in Finance (Finance & Investment) at Kabarak University.
“The Board and Management takes this opportunity to welcome and congratulate Mr. Kimosop on his appointment,” the statement by Standard concluded, in a congratulatory note.
Standard Group’s Woes
The appointment of Wesley Kimosop came at a time when Standard Group has graced the headlines for the wrong reasons.
In recent years, the company which trades on the Nairobi Securities Exchange has been struggling to remain afloat.
Cases of delayed salaries, auctioneers raiding its offices and mass exodus of staff have become the norm at the Mombasa Road-based media giant.
“How do managers get paid 70 percent of June’s salary and we get 20 percent of September? How do we come to work?” Standard Group journalists posed in a regular staff meeting, exposing the crisis in the media house.
Following the crisis, the Kenya Union of Journalists (KUJ) asked SG to put its house in order and pay journalists.
“We are giving the company 14 days to come up with a payment plan with a view of settling the arrears or else we will mobilize media workers in solidarity to picket at the company’s offices countrywide,” the statement by KUJ read.
Standard Group Performance
Additionally, according to the unaudited financials for the half year ended in June 2023, the total group revenue declined by 8% to Kshs.1.26 billion.
Also Read: From Clerk to CEO, Inspiring Story of Family Bank New Boss
This drop was blamed on reduced advertising spending as a result of the tough economic conditions.
However, in a forewarning, the firm noted that it had undertaken cost rationalization measures, especially in staff costs, leading to a 22% drop in total costs.
SG noted that the business environment was difficult due to global uncertainties, drought, geopolitical tensions and tightening monetary policies.
Some of the popular brands owned by the Standard Group include the Standard newspaper, KTN News, KTN Home, Radio Maisha, Spice FM, Vybez Radio, Burudani TV and Farmers TV.
