Nation Media Group (NMG) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Stephen Gitagama has retired and will leave at the end of July 2024.
In a statement, Nation announced that Gitagama will retire after 17 years, paving the way for NMG’s Chief Financial Officer, Richard Tobiko, to become interim CEO to address leadership and workforce issues.
Gitagama, who served as CEO for seven years, informed employees on Friday, July 19, about his upcoming departure.
“My tenure as CEO at NMG will come to an end by August 1st. I’m leaving behind a very strong team, and with the dedication you have, I believe you will go far,” Gitagama said.
Additionally, there are reports that 80 percent of the NMG Board of Directors will also be leaving alongside the CEO.
Gitagama’s departure follows the company’s layoffs in May and June, which affected more than 16 employees. This was the fifth round of layoffs since Gitagama took over from former CEO Joe Muganda.
The NMG had not commented on the reports by the time of publishing. Gitagama has served as NMG CEO since June 2018, having been promoted from being a director at the company.
He has also served as the NMG Group Finance Director from 2007. Before joining NMG, Gitagama had served as an accountant/finance director at Kenya Breweries Limited/East African Breweries Ltd (EABL).
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June Layoffs
On June 7, NMG announced plans to lay off part of its staff to reduce the workforce due to the rapid changes in the journalism world.
The company said the decision comes as it navigates changes in its Transformation Agenda and adapts to the rapidly changing media landscape, driven by shifts in audience consumption habits and technological advancements.
“As part of the continued implementation of our strategy, we are evolving into a leaner, more agile organization that will drive the efficient delivery of services to our audiences and innovate rapidly to reap the benefits of the digital economy. Regrettably, this will necessitate a workforce reduction,” NMG said.
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Nation Media Group Fires 600 Employees
This followed a similar announcement in April where NMG said it would fire 600 employees, including journalists.
In an internal memo dated February 5, 2024, Gitagama issued staff a one-month notice of its intention to declare the 600 employees redundant in the wake of reduced revenues.
“I wish to notify all members of staff of the company’s intention to declare redundancy of 600 employees across various departments at the end of Q1 (April 2024),” read the memo.
The CEO said the move was necessitated by a drastic drop in revenues in the past few years caused by a disruption of its advertising in 2023 and 2024 following 20 months of unpaid advertising revenue from the Government Advertising Agency (GAA).
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