Mary Wangari Wamae

Last updated

Mary Wangari Wamae
NationalityKenyan
CitizenshipKenya
Education University of Nairobi
Kenya School of Law
York St John University
Occupation(s)Lawyer and Corporate Executive
Years activeSince 1992
TitleExecutive Director at Equity Group Holdings

Mary Wangari Wamae, commonly known as Mary Wamae, is a lawyer, businesswoman and corporate executive from Kenya. She was the executive director at Equity Group Holdings, a financial services conglomerate based in Kenya, with subsidiaries in the countries of the African Great Lakes area. She joined the then building society in 2004 as the Head of Legal Services before her promotion to Company Secretary and Head of Legal Services in 2005. In 2008, Mrs. Wamae rose to become Director of Corporate Strategy, Legal Services and Company Secretary and in 2012 became Group Company Secretary, Director of Corporate Strategy and Legal Services. In 2014, Mrs. Wamae was promoted to Group Director of Strategy, Legal Services and Group Company Secretary, a position she held until 2017. Mary was appointed as Group Executive Director in 2017 until her retirement in June 2024. [1] [2]

Contents

Early life and education

Wamae was born and raised in a rural setting, in present-day Nyeri County. She, along with one sister and four brothers were raised by a single mother whose main source of income was peasant agriculture. [3]

She holds a Bachelor of Laws degree, obtained from the University of Nairobi. She went on to obtain a Postgraduate Diploma in Law from the Kenya School of Law. She was then admitted to the Kenya Bar. [4]

Her degree of Master of Arts in Gender and Development Studies was obtained from the University of Nairobi. Later, she was awarded a master's degree in Leadership Innovation and Change, by York St John University, in Nottingham, United Kingdom. [4]

Career

Before joining Equity Bank in 2004, Wamae was a Partner in the law firm of Mary Wangari & Company Advocates, which she had founded and led for 13 years. [3]

She joined the financial institution when it was still Equity Building Society, and served as the Head of Legal Services. The following year, her responsibility was expanded to include the role of Company Secretary. [1] [2]

Her responsibilities progressively increased over the years. Before she took up her current assignment, her position was described as Group Director of Strategy, Legal Services and Group Company Secretary. The company split that position and hired two people to replace her. [1] [2]

In her role as executive director for the banking group, she oversees the group's subsidiaries in DR Congo, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda. [1] [2]

Family

She is a mother of three daughters. [3]

Autobiography

She has published her autobiography under the cover name of THE VILLAGE GIRL: MY DREAM, LIFE AND LEGACY. https://read.amazon.com/kp/embed?asin=B0CCSPB4SM&preview=newtab&linkCode=kpe&ref_=cm_sw_r_kb_dp_SN2RFV1K9N44G1QEBK6K

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wangarĩ Maathai</span> Kenyan environmental and political activist (1940–2011)

Wangarĩ Muta Maathai was a Kenyan social, environmental, and political activist who founded the Green Belt Movement, an environmental non-governmental organization focused on the planting of trees, environmental conservation, and women's rights. In 2004 she became the first African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize.

Caroline Wanjiku Mugane is an attorney and investment banker in Kenya, the largest economy in the East African Community. She is the managing director of Fedha Connect Limited, a company that raises capital for businesses in agribusiness, real estate, oil and gas. She is a member of the board of directors of Kenya Airways, the national airline. She has previously served on the boards of Equity Bank, East African Breweries, and Standard Securities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hanna Tetteh</span> Ghanaian politician

Hanna Serwaa Tetteh is a Ghanaian barrister and politician. She served in the cabinet of Ghana as Minister for Trade and Industry from 2009 to 2013 and Minister for Foreign Affairs from 2013 to 2017. She was also the Member of Parliament for the Awutu-Senya West constituency. She currently serves as the UN Secretary General's Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa.

NCBA Bank Kenya, whose full name is NCBA Bank Kenya Plc, is a commercial bank in Kenya. It is licensed by the Central Bank of Kenya, the country's central bank and national banking regulator.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Bank of Kenya</span> Commercial bank in Kenya

National Bank of Kenya (NBK), also known as National Bank, is a commercial bank in Kenya, the largest economy in the East African Community. It is licensed by the Central Bank of Kenya, the central bank, and national banking regulator. Effective September 2019, the bank is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Kenya Commercial Bank Group.

Sidian Bank, formerly known as K-Rep Bank, is a commercial bank in Kenya, licensed by the Central Bank of Kenya, the national banking regulator.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Equity Bank Kenya Limited</span> Financial services provider

Equity Bank Kenya Limited is a Kenyan bank and financial services provider headquartered in Nairobi providing retail banking and commercial banking services. The bank is licensed as a commercial bank by the Central Bank of Kenya, which is the national banking regulator of Kenya.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Equity Group Holdings</span> Financial services holding company based in the African Great Lakes region

Equity Group Holdings Limited (EGHL), formerly Equity Bank Group, is a financial services holding company based in the African Great Lakes region. EGHL's headquarters are in Nairobi, Kenya, with subsidiaries in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, South Sudan, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of the Congo and a representative office in Ethiopia.

Rebecca Miano is a Kenyan lawyer who has served as the Cabinet Secretary for Investments, Trade & Industry since October 2023. She is the immediate former Cabinet Secretary for East African Community, the ASALs and Regional Development. Before joining Cabinet, she served as the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of KenGen Plc., the largest producer of electricity in the East African region from November 2017. She was confirmed on 1 November 2017, having served in acting capacity since August 2017.

Teodosia Osir, also Teddie Osir, is a Kenyan lawyer and corporate executive, who is the general counsel and head of corporate affairs at Kenya Airways, an international airline based in Nairobi, the capital and largest city in Kenya.

Iddah Asin is a lawyer and corporate executive in Kenya. She is the Director of Government Affairs and Policy, for the pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson in the countries of the African Great Lakes. In 2017 she was named among the "Top 40 Women Under 40 in Kenya", by the Nation Media Group.

Agnes Nangila Odhiambo, is an accountant, financial manager and civil servant in Kenya, who was appointed as chairperson of the National Transport and Safety Authority of Kenya, a parastatal responsible for monitoring and regulating the use of public and private transport in the country. She was appointed on 15 May 2020, for a three-year term.

Esther Ndeti, is a Kenyan mechanical engineer, businesswoman and corporate executive, who serves an executive director of the East Africa Private Equity & Venture Capital Association (EAVCA), based in Nairobi, the capital city of Kenya, effective 14 January 2017. Prior to her current position, she served as the regional coordinator for the Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE).

Jane Karuku, is a Kenyan businesswoman and corporate executive, who in December 2020, was appointed as the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the East African Breweries Limited, headquartered in Nairobi, with subsidiaries in Kenya, Uganda, South Sudan and Tanzania. Before that, she served as the managing director of Kenya Breweries Limited, one of the Kenyan subsidiaries of EABL. She assumed her new position on 1 January 2021.

Tavaziva Madzinga is a Zimbabwean actuary and corporate executive, who was appointed as the Group Managing Director of Britam Holdings Plc (Britam), a financial services conglomerate headquartered in Nairobi, the Kenyan capital, with subsidiaries in Kenya, Uganda, South Sudan, Rwanda, Tanzania, Malawi and Mozambique. His appointment became effective on 1 February 2021.

Risper Alaro is an accountant, businesswoman and corporate executive in Kenya. In March 2022, she was appointed as the group finance director at Centum Investments, a publicly traded private equity company in Kenya. The shares of stock of Centum Investments trade on both the Nairobi Stock Exchange and on the Uganda Securities Exchange. Alaro is expected to take up her new appointment on 15 March 2022.

Victoria Chelangat Sabula is a Kenyan businesswoman, lawyer and corporate executive who serves as the chief executive officer at the Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund (AECF), an "African financial development institution" that provides "catalytic funding to start-ups and emerging private companies in sub-Saharan Africa", in the agricultural and renewable energy arenas. She was appointed to this position in July 2019.

Wanja Yvonne Michuki is a Kenyan family enterprise coach, consultant, advisor and financial analyst. She sits on a number of corporate boards of directors, including Kenya Agricultural Finance Corporation, based in Nairobi, Kenya and is a member of the advisory board at Columbia Global Centers, based in Nairobi. She also serves as the managing director at Be Bold Consoling and Advisory Limited, a Kenyan family enterprise coaching, consulting, and advisory firm that she founded in 2015. She is a member of the Family Firm Institute, based in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. She is also a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and a Salzburg Global Fellow.

Anthony Kituuka is a Ugandan accountant, business executive and banker. He is the managing director and chief executive officer of Equity Bank Uganda, a commercial bank in that country, effective November 2022.

Annastacia Kimtai is a Kenyan banker, businesswoman and corporate executive, who serves as the managing director and chief executive officer of KCB Bank Kenya Limited, the Kenyan subsidiary of the KCB Group, a large multinational financial services conglomerate headquartered in Kenya with banking subsidiaries in the seven member countries of the East African Community.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Brian Ngugi (17 July 2018). "Equity appoints director for its subsidiaries". Business Daily Africa . Nairobi, Kenya. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Capital FM Correspondent (17 July 2018). "Equity Group Appoints Mary Wamae As Executive Director; Christine Akinyi As Company Secretary". 98.4 Capital FM . Nairobi, Kenya. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 Steve Biko (21 January 2022). "Mary Wamae, at the top of Equity Bank". Business Daily Africa . Nairobi, Kenya. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  4. 1 2 Mary Wangari (21 January 2022). "Wangari Mary: Group Executive Director at Equity Bank Group". LinkedIn.com . Retrieved 21 January 2022.