Abdi Mohamed Named Absa Kenya’s Chief Executive

By Ambrose Gahene

Abdi Mohamed has been named Absa Kenya’s Chief Executive, replacing Jeremy Awori, who exited in October last year after a nearly 10-year stint.

Abdi’s appointment is subject to regulatory approval and he currently doubles up as Absa Tanzania’s managing director, and acting managing executive for retail and business banking, Africa Regional Operations. He has previously served as the chief operating officer for the Kenyan financial institution.

“Other roles that he has held within the organization include retail and business banking director in Kenya and Zambia, and operations efficiency manager, Barclays global retail and commercial banking, London,” Absa said in a statement.

Jeremy Awori, Abdi’s predecessor, was appointed pan-African Ecobank chief executive officer in September. He is credited with having helped Absa Kenya achieve significant commercial milestones in the past decade, including the rebranding from Barclays.

The Nairobi Securities Exchange listed lender posted a 30 per cent jump in net profit in the nine months that ended September on the back of higher income from lending. The company’s net earnings stood at $83.6 million (Sh10.7 billion) in the review period, up from $64.1 million (Sh8.2 billion) the year before.

Absa had replaced Awori with Yusuf Omari on an interim basis.

“Yusuf will continue as the interim managing director until such a time when the regulatory approval process in respect of Mohamed’s appointment is completed,” said Absa.

Abdi Mohamed holds a Bachelor of Commerce from Kenyatta University, a Masters of Business Administration (MBA) from Edith Cowan University in Australia, and an Advanced Management Programme from the International Institute for Management Development (IMD), Switzerland.