Ms Mary Ngige. She has been replaced as CMC acting chief executive. Photo/FILE
What you need to know:
Acting chief executive Mary Ngige leaves the company as Al Futtaim Group moves to assert its control on the firm.
She has been replaced on a temporary basis by Solomon Macharia, the managing director of the company’s subsidiary CMC Motors.
A management shake-up at motor dealer CMC Holdings has seen acting chief executive Mary Ngige leave the company as Dubai conglomerate Al Futtaim Group moves to assert its control on the firm.
Ms Ngige’s departure deepens management changes brought by Al Futtaim, the new owner of the previously Nairobi Securities Exchange-listed company.
She has been replaced on a temporary basis by Solomon Macharia, the managing director of the company’s subsidiary CMC Motors.
“Mary Ngige resigned last month,” a source familiar with the management changes at the company told the Business Daily.
Al Futtaim has seconded an executive to CMC, Mark Kass, who is tipped to take over the CEO’s role on a full-time basis.
Former CMC chief executive Bill Lay stepped down from his position in April last year as part of a deal negotiated among top shareholders of the company who had differed sharply over control of the firm since March 2011 when former long-serving CEO Martin Forster was fired.
The management wrangles saw CMC lose the lucrative franchise dealership of Jaguar and Land Rover brands.
Besides Ms Ngige, other managers who have left CMC in recent weeks include Pamela Mutua who headed the Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) division before the franchise was lost to rival dealer RMA Kenya last year.
Ken Ouko, former head of Ford division at CMC, also left the company to join RMA Kenya.
The management changes are seen as part of Al Futtaim’s bid to firm its grip on the company whose acquisition it completed last month at a cost of Sh7.5 billion.
The entry of Mr Kass signals Al Futtaim’s intention to realign CMC’s operations and strategies with the parent company.
The multinational is also expected to make changes to the car dealer’s board where the current five directors were appointed by shareholders who have been bought out.
The directors are Kyalo Mbobu and Mark ole Karbolo who were appointed by former CMC top shareholder Peter Muthoka who had a 24.7 per cent stake in the auto dealer.
Naftali Mogere was nominated by businessman Jeremiah Kiereini whose stake stood at 12.5 per cent prior to the purchase.
The other directors are business associates Paul Ndung’u and Joel Kibe whose combined stake was estimated at about 12 per cent.
Al-Futtaim said it had required the resignation of some or all of CMC directors prior to the closure of the acquisition, giving it the latitude to make boardroom changes.
Mr Kibe earlier told the Business Daily he would remain as chairman of the company after the buyout. CMC’s new CEO will be expected to implement Al Futtaim’s plans for the motor vehicle dealership business in Kenya and the regional market.
Al Futtaim’s immediate priority is the preservation of CMC’s current franchises including Volkswagen, Ford, and MAN.
The Dubai firm noted that its acquisition of CMC could lead to a review of the firm’s dealership rights.
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