Bank of Africa appoints Kenyan as board chairman

Bank of Africa Kenya has appointed diplomat Denis Awori to chair its board in an effort to give the foreign-owned bank a Kenyan face.

Mr Awori, who also chairs the board of Toyota Kenya, takes the helm from Paul Derreumaux, the founder of Bank of Africa Group that owns 64.5 per cent of the Kenyan unit.

This will see Mr Awori become the first Kenyan to head the bank since its opened shop in 2004 and the second local after David Sikand of PE fund Aureos to sit in the eight member board. Aureos East Africa Fund owns 15.5 per cent of the bank.

“We want to ‘Kenyanise’ the bank to show locals they are a part of it,” said Kwame Ahadzi, the bank’s managing director.