Kathryne Maundu, a seasoned lawyer, has exited her company secretary role in four listed firms including Safaricom in under a month, citing a change in career focus.
On Tuesday three Nairobi Securities Exchange-listed firms — East African Breweries Plc, BAT Kenya, and Eaagads Limited— announced her exit effective October 23. She exited from Safaricom on September 30.
In an exclusive interview with the Business Daily, Ms Maundu said serving the four firms at once has required a lot of dedication and now feels it is time to get some time back into her hands for family and friends.
“It is part of my goals and the professional path that I want to follow. I have done what I sought to achieve. I have enriched my experiences. I have built networks and added value to the extent that I could,” said Ms Maundu.
“I want to be significant to society and add value in a different way. I cannot do this if I am spending more time on service delivery. It is a new season and I am also thinking about my wellness and the next steps in terms of family, friends, and hobbies,” she says.
She joined the BAT board as a company secretary in June 2020, EABL in March 2020, and Safaricom in February 2016. She has been on Eaagad's board since 2019.
EABL and BAT said she demonstrated exceptional professionalism, competence, dedication, diplomacy, and tact while Eaagads added that her professional demeanour and integrity have been an asset to its board.
At Safaricom where she had served for more than seven years, the board thanked her for her “dedicated service, sound advice, and commitment.”
The telco has replaced her with Linda Wambani while EABL and BAT have picked Angela Namwakira and Waeni Ngea respectively to fill her shoes as Eaagads went for Winnie Jumba.
Ms Maundu said she also wants to focus on one industry and delve more into mentoring those who are getting into the secretarial profession.
She is an advocate of the High Court, a certified public secretary, and an accredited governance auditor with the Institute of Certified Secretaries of Kenya.
In her capacity as a partner at Stamford Corporate Services LLP, which is part of Bowmans Coulson Harney LLP, Ms Maundu has also managed to serve more than 250 companies as an outsourced company secretary over the past 17 years.
“We hear a lot of things in the boardroom. You’ve got to know what to share with third parties and why” says Ms Maundu.
