Telecommunications giant Safaricom has announced a new Group Chief Technology and Information Officer (CTIO).
Safaricom PLC CEO Peter Ndegwa while making the announcement named James Githinji Maitai as the new CTIO to replace George Njuguna.
“I have appointed James Maitai as the Group Chief Technology and Information Officer (CTIO) effective 1 November 2024. James will be responsible for the end-to-end performance of our network and all IT systems,” said Ndegwa.
“He will also lead the technology function in line with best practice, and will play a key leadership role in ExCo, contributing to the overall business strategy.”
Ndegwa at the same time thanked outgoing CTIO Njuguna for his role saying he was instrumental to Safaricom’s digital transformation journey from the moment he was anointed CIO of the Year in 2019.
Njuguna joined Safaricom as the Director of IT with an additional CTIO role in February 2024.
James Maitai named Safaricom’s CTIO
The CEO further thanked Njuguna for steering and providing leadership to the Safaricom technology team.
“Subsequently, I wish to thank Njuguna for steering and providing leadership to the technology team since March 2024. Since joining Safaricom as Director IT in 2019, he has been instrumental in digitizing our operations and has been key in the rollout of our telco to techno strategy growing talent in the technology team fourfold to over 800 while entrenching Agile ways of working in Safaricom,” added Ndegwa.
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Maitai has over 23 years’ experience within the technology sector and re-joins Safaricom PLC from Safaricom Ethiopia where he was CTIO since January 2023.
Before joining Safaricom Ethiopia, Maitai spent 16 years at Safaricom PLC serving across various roles including Director – Network.
During his tenure, he led the rapid deployment of a comprehensive technology stack and acceleration of the network to 3,000 sites.
Maitai was also instrumental in operationalizing the M-Pesa ecosystem, implementing a next-generation digital infrastructure and core network, and driving strategic cost leadership by realizing over 30 per cent savings in technology OPEX.
The new Safaricom CTIO holds a B.Sc. in Electrical & Electronics Engineering from the University of Nairobi, and an MBA from the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT).
Also Read: Safaricom Announces Board Changes
He is also a certified coach and has undergone advanced management programs at Strathmore Business School, Lagos Business School and IESE in Spain.
Safaricom board changes
The leadership changes at Safaricom come after the company announced changes to its Board of Directors following the exit of a member.
Safaricom in a notice published on Friday August 30, 2024, announced the appointment of James Ludlow as a new Board member to serve as a director and replace Francesco Bianco, who exited the board on 1 August 2024.
“The Board is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. James Ludlow as a Safaricom PLC Director, with effect from 28 August 2024 for a tenure of one year,” the notice read in part.
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