Jacqueline Karasha, the CEO and Principal Officer of Sanlam Life Insurance Kenya, has always been straight with herself. She’s the kind of girl who can nap anywhere (or everywhere), a pork-ribs-savant, 5am-rising leader who will tell you that discourse is only fun when it’s part of the main course. “Make sure, in whatever you do, you eat first.”
You wouldn’t know it looking at her in that office, but she is also the kind of Hip-Hop-loving girl who raps to riffs of 2Pac’s ‘Hit ‘Em Up’ in the car, playing that specific part. You know which one—and oh, how she can rap.
A lastborn for 10 years, she was her daddy’s girl until her younger brother came along. Success has still not riveted the ache of longing for that girl in her father’s car driving down to Magadi or Kajiado or someplace like that, drinking Fanta or Coca Cola or something like that, in love with adventure.
“I have a hidden gem,” she says. Where? “In Tiwi, but there are no routes to get there!” And that’s all she wrote.
Ms Karasha, which part of your life has been the most fun?
Wow. My childhood, and right now.
What about your childhood?
I had a very safe, warm, nurturing childhood. Life was simpler than now. My childhood was filled with good memories of family and travelling with my dad. He's still there, and he's very adventurous. And we would go to the most unlikely places for Christmas, like Magadi.
Did you know there's a whole new world past Magadi? And I was thinking, why would my dad take us to the middle of nowhere? And we would have nyama choma under a tree and Fanta on Christmas Day. We discovered places and hidden gems that Kenyans are just now discovering.
Speaking of, what’s a hidden gem for you now?
Can I really quantify a place? I have a place at the Coast that I consider hidden because it's in the middle of nowhere.
Which part of the Coast?
Everyone knows Diani and Malindi, but this one is in Tiwi, the south Coast. It's very uncharted. We have no routes to get there, but it's really nice. That's all I have to say about that [chuckles].
What's bringing excitement to your life now?
Travelling. The last three, four years of my career were very intense. So my son and I had a pact last year. And we said, we’re going to travel a bit more, whether it's within or outside the country.
We’re just going to do some quarterly thing and so we're doing that a lot, seeing new places. He’s 11 years old, and I feel he is growing up, understanding life, gauging whether he likes me or trusts me. Am I cool? Do I like his music? [chuckles]. He likes places where we will not see or interact with people and just be us [chuckles].
What's your travel personality?
I plan in my head, but the execution is terrible. I do last-minute booking of flights and whatnot. Recently, we did a very random trip to Arusha on a Thursday. So it's something always at the back of my mind, but I don't know where until the last minute.
Has there been a destination that has made you rethink what success means?
Yes, every time I go towards Kajiado and Maasailand and open spaces, I think it comes back full circle. You want to be somewhere in a farm or a ranch by yourself, eating your home-grown foods, living a quality life without billboards and traffic and trees being cut down every day. You want to have that space.
It comes back to the things we thought, let's get out of here, let's come to Nairobi, let's make it. Now you just want to go back. That said, I like the soft life [chuckles].
But you seem to be drawn to this rugged lifestyle.
Yes. Quiet, outside and not too cluttered, but I still sleep on a nice bed and I'll have lunch or breakfast [chuckles].
You sound like an only child.
No, we're five. And I am the second born, which I was for 10 years. I was the special child, my dad's favourite for 10 years. Then all of a sudden, a son has been born into the family, and everyone is like, ‘Oh, the son has come.’ And I felt so neglected for a short period of time [chuckles].
Which part of your son reminds you of your father?
My relationship with my son is very close to how I related with my dad. We’re very close. The sense of safety that I felt, and I always feel with my dad up to today, I get that with my son as well.
What do you hope he remembers about you when he's your age?
The values that I instilled in him. I tell him you don't need to be the brightest, and I've had to first accept that because I was an ‘A’ child. So naturally, you want your child to be an ‘A’ child [chuckles], but he's very artistic. He draws comics and writes very interesting essays and whatnot.
But math, we're being too short on math. And you know I was good at math! I've been very deliberate with him, and I told him, ‘You can be a ‘C’ student, but you've got to give it your best.’ Beyond all this, I think the character that I'm moulding into him is more important: is he kind? Is he mindful of others? These are the things that matter.
Do you think your prodigiousness weighs on his conscience?
You see it in small ways. My son will ask me, ‘Are you upset that I’ve not got an A? Do you think I'm enough?' And I tell him 'you're enough'. All I need is for you to just be a good human being. That’s what the world needs more of. Besides, AI is doing a lot for us haha!
How do you take care of yourself?
I'm not doing very well in that regard. For the last three years, I have been guarding my space around my mental and spiritual health, intentionally. Corporate world is rough, and there is no switching off, the higher you go, the higher your expectations.
But I have tried, I have bought a walking pad, a stepper, a skipping rope, and it’s not working, but I’ll get there. I decided to start with my mental health, so I began therapy because I felt that when I sit down with someone and talk to them about nothing and everything, it helps centre me. I tell people to do therapy, it does not mean you are crazy, but it helps centre you.
I grew up in the church, and was a missionary haha! But I have a grounding ritual: every morning and mostly weekends, I’ll just wake up and listen to myself at 5am. No music, no talks, just silence and that clears your mind.
What are you hearing when you listen to yourself?
All things. There are days when I am tired. Then there's, 'I've got this', and other days where I am like, 'Can I just go back to bed?' And you actually filter your thoughts before the day starts.
What's the hardest part about therapy, talking or listening?
Talking. Therapists don't talk much, especially when you're dealing with hard truths about yourself, and you have to voice them. But then once you speak it out, you've already started getting an answer to it.
What's the most personal item you have in this office?
My son created a psalm for me, and I had put it up here on the wall. My beloved agents also gave me a painting, which you can see hanging up there.
What do you do when you can’t sleep?
Ha! I just scroll online, because I can't read at that point, because there's a reason why I'm not able to sleep [chuckles].
I'm assuming that you're invited to a lot of parties and networking sessions. Do you have a party trick?
I'm not very social, in my personality tests, I am blue and red—blue is private, calm and closed. But red is for competitiveness, so it’s a unique mix. If it is a work party, my red and yellow will come out, and I’ll mentally prepare myself for it because I’d rather be home. I will have fun and dance, and enjoy. The trick therefore, is to prepare mentally for it [chuckles].
What's the soundtrack of your life now?
Now We Are Free (by Gavin Greenaway, and The Lyndhurst Orchestra). Do you know the Gladiator movie’s soundtrack? I play it every morning [chuckles].
I’ll confess. I had you more of a Beyoncé girl.
Oh! I am actually an Eminem girlie haha! My son likes Christian HipHop, which we are also listening to, and I like that because normal hip-hop has too much ratchetness. My soundtrack is Lose Yourself to the Music by Eminem, especially when I need to psyche myself up for the day. It has graduated from 2Pac and Lil Wayne, whom I used to sing along to in the car haha!
What wouldn’t I believe about you?
I am a very good cook. My pork ribs are the stuff of legends. I have perfected it.
What’s your superpower?
I read people very well, but won’t show it [chuckles]. And then I’ll match myself to you.
What’s an unusual habit that you have?
I wake up at 5am every day, no matter the day. On Saturdays, I will try to sleep in, but my mind is still alert. I blame the 5am club we did with the sales people, leading from the front haha! But also, I just really like to sleep. I can nap anywhere, just like my mum, who’d even sleep when we had guests.
What do you wish people understood about you more?
That behind all this, I am just a person who wants to make a good in whatever space I am in. I don’t do it for the money or fame, but I can meet someone and they feel my impact on their life.
What would you like in your obituary?
Oh, I have not thought about that haha! But, maybe, now that we are on it: ‘Now We Are Free.’
