NIC Bank appoints acting chief after exit of head to Cabinet

NIC Bank has appointed the director in charge of corporate banking as acting chief executive following the appointment of its head to the Cabinet.

The bank Wednesday tapped Allan Dodd, executive director for corporate banking, to head the mid-tier lender as it opened the search for a new CEO.

James Macharia was sworn in as Health Cabinet secretary Wednesday and has led NIC Bank since 2005.

“The Board today appointed Allan James Dodd, executive director in charge of corporate banking, as the managing director of NIC Bank in an acting capacity pending a substantive appointment in the position,” said the bank in a statement to the Capital Market Authority.

Mr Dodd holds a degree in Economics and has been with the bank since 2006. NIC Bank becomes the latest lender to have a new occupant in the corner office following the exit a number of CEOs.

Those who have exited include Adan Mohamed, Martin Oduor-Otieno and Reuben Marambi who left Barclays Bank, KCB and National Bank of Kenya respectively.

Mr Mohamed was promoted to Barclays Africa division after serving as head of Kenyan unit for years before appointment to the Cabinet as Industrialisation secretary and Consolidated Bank is also seeking a new head after its CEO Ndegwa Wachira attained the retirement age of 60.

The new chief executive officer of NIC Bank will be expected to step up its expansion into foreign markets, especially within the east African region.

During Mr Macharia tenure, the bank opened foreign subsidiaries in Tanzania and Uganda and its profits have increased from Sh275.6 million in 2005 to Sh3 billion last year.

The bank's share Wednesday stood at Sh54 compared to Sh53 when the appointment of Mr Macharia was made public on April 23 and has gained 19.3 per cent over the past three months.