PhD chief executives take charge in Kenyan firms

Corporate Kenya has witnessed a rise of chief executives holding PhD degrees, a step-up from the favoured MBA title.

The recent appointments of Ben Chumo as the Kenya Power managing director and Charles Tanui at the Kenya Pipeline Company have ignited debate on the importance of doctorate qualifications in the C-Suite.

The two join Edward Odundo, the head of the Retirement Benefits Authority and Nyambura Koigi of Postbank, who have in recent years added the title doctor to their names to represent the high academic qualifications while shepherding their firms.

Others tapped to the executive suites with the PhD qualifications include TransCentury chief Gachao Kiuna, Geothermal Development Company managing director Silas Simiyu and Kipkurui arap Langat of New KCC.

Management experts reckon that the quest for doctorate degrees in the corner office is not driven by the need for promotions, but for intellectual satisfaction.

“PhDs are a mark of intellectual curiosity and are associated with people who want to gain a deeper understanding of their field of specialisation,” said David Muturi, CEO at the Kenya Institute of Management.

“Holding a PhD does not make somebody a better or worse manager but it is common with people keen on becoming an authority in their field.”

The bulk of the CEO’s with doctorate qualifications were in State-owned firms as opposed to other public companies listed at the Nairobi Securities Exchange.

The Nairobi bourse had only two chief executives with a PhD — Mr Kiuna and Caesar Mwangi, who early this month was replaced as CEO of Sasini.

Dr Mwangi received his PhD in organisational performance and change management from the University of Johannesburg in 2004.

Mr Chumo, who last year earned his PhD in human resources from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, explains the link between his present academic qualifications and his professional status.

“I see the two sets of interests as occupying different spaces in my mind,” said Mr Chumo, stressing that higher qualifications have, however, made him interrogate issues keenly on the exposure to theories in managing human capital.

He admitted that pursuit of higher qualifications has helped him climb the career ladder from serving as human resource officer in the utility to chief manager in charge of HR in 2003 before assuming the CEO’s title two weeks ago.

But balancing work place demands and the academia is not an easy affair. Despite opting for evening and weekend classes, Dr Chumo had to teach some classes as a lecturer assistant, a requirement in many doctorate programmes.

“PhD studies are very demanding and need a lot of discipline. I’m thankful for the support from family and employer who encouraged me through it,” said Dr Chumo.

“It was very fulfilling to earn my PhD. Human beings love to be differentiated and this for me is a great feeling.”

Studies and work

But Dr Kiuna of TransCentury avoided this torturous path of combining work and study because he earned his doctorate degree in biotechnology from the Institute of Biotechnology, University of Cambridge, at the age of 24 before he joined employment.

After the doctorate degree, he joined consultancy firm McKinsey in 2003 where he structured deals and offered advisory to corporate clients in emerging markets on corporate finance and strategy. He was tapped for top job at TransCentury in 2008.

He has overseen the transition of the firm, which popularised investment clubs among Kenyans, from an investment firm to an infrastructure company with an eye on the budding oil and gas industry.

“Skills such as aptitude to learn, developing curiosity, interrogating issues and deeper thinking which are acquired when taking PhD can be very relevant in business,” said Dr Kiuna.

He also stands out given that his PhD is not linked to business management degrees like Dr Chumo, Dr Odundo and Mr Tanui, who holds an MBA from Moi University and has completed course work for his PhD in Business Management.