Jacqueline Mugo is the current Chief Executive Officer of the Federation of Kenya Employers (FKE) and the first African woman to serve as President of the International Organization of Employers (IOE).
She was unanimously elected to this historic role during the IOE General Assembly held on June 2, 2024, in Geneva, Switzerland to serve a three-year term as the head of the 155-member organization, which is the world’s largest business network.
Before the appointment, Mugo held several international roles. She served as Vice President during both the 103rd Session of the International Labour Conference (ILC) in 2014 and the 108th (Centenary) Session in 2019.
In 2018, she was the Employer Spokesperson for the ILC General Discussion Committee on Effective Development Cooperation, and in 2023, she served in the same capacity for the General Discussion Committee on Just Transition.
The FKE boss has long represented employers at numerous regional and international conferences, forums, and policy-shaping events.
Mugo is a seasoned lawyer and advocate of the High Court of Kenya with expertise in employment law, labour relations, strategic leadership, human resource management, and governance.
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Jacqueline Mugo profile
Her extensive experience spans both public and private sectors, including senior executive roles in the judiciary, multinational corporations, and the aviation industry.
In addition, her past roles include Resident Magistrate in the Judiciary, Regional Human Resources Operations Manager at Unilever Kenya Limited, and Head of Human Resources at Kenya Airways Limited.
Mugo is a Titular Member of the Governing Body of the International Labour Organization (ILO) and serves as the Secretary-General of BUSINESS Africa Employers Confederation, which represents employers across the continent.
Nationally, she has served on numerous boards and commissions in public administration, energy, labour, health, and education sectors—advocating for employer interests and promoting good governance in public institutions.
She serves as a Board member of Member of Governing Body, ILO, Council Member, Pan-African Employers’ Confederation (PEC), Trustee, National Social Security Fund (NSSF) Board of Trustees, Higher Education Loans Board, Labor Advisory Board, National Industrial Training Council and Productivity Centre of Kenya.
Her work has earned her multiple presidential and international awards in recognition of her commitment to advancing employment policy and employer representation globally.
Jacqueline holds a Bachelor of Laws (University of Nairobi) and a Higher Diploma in Human Resource Management (HRM), Institute of Personnel Management.
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Since she assumed leadership as CEO of the Federation of Kenya Employers, employers have been at the center of public debate and tensions with both the government and the Central Organisation of Trade Unions (COTU) over wage policies amid growing economic challenges.
Atwoli and FKE differ
During the 2025 Labour Day celebrations at Uhuru Gardens in Nairobi, FKE was denied the opportunity to address workers at the national event.
COTU Secretary General Francis Atwoli publicly criticized FKE, accusing it of undermining the government by allegedly frustrating the ratification of two key ILO conventions — ILO Convention 189 on domestic workers and Convention 190 on violence and harassment in the workplace.
“So, anybody frustrating the ratification of ILO 189 and 190 is frustrating your government… these two conventions have been ratified worldwide, and Your Excellency, you need to also talk to the Federation of Kenya Employers — let them give us support in this direction,” Atwoli remarked.
In response, FKE expressed disappointment over its exclusion from the national Labour Day platform, describing the move as unfair.
The organization emphasized that it had been acting in good faith and remained committed to constructive engagement on national labour matters.
“There are international conventions which dictate the process to be followed. You should be ready, look at its processes, laws, systems, to be ready for implementation. So that is what we want done — then we will be ready to ratify,” Mugo explained.
The employers also drew attention to the increasingly difficult environment for employers, citing burdensome taxation, economic instability, and rising operational costs.
“But it is unfortunate that instead of handling issues through dialogue, which this sector runs on, we are then exposed to the kind of scenario we went through today,” the FKE boss added.
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