Motor vehicle dealer Isuzu East Africa chief executive Rita Kavashe has been appointed as the board chairperson cigarette manufacturer BAT Kenya Plc following the retirement of Mr. George Maina as a Director and consequently as the Chairperson of the Board with effect from 31st August 2020.
Mr. Maina was appointed to the Company’s Board as an Independent Non-Executive Director in November 2010 and thereafter as Chairperson of the Board from September 2013, a cumulative period of over nine years.
Ms Kavashe has been a a Non-Executive Director of the Company since July 2020 when she joined the board and is currently the Managing Director of Isuzu East Africa Limited, the largest motor vehicle assembler in East Africa. She joined General Motors in 1995 and has held several key roles in Sales & Marketing, both in Kenya and South Africa.
She is also the Chairperson of the Kenya Roads Board, a Non-Executive Director of Bamburi Cement Limited (Lafarge Group), Vice-Chair of the Kenya Private Sector Alliance and serves as a Member of the Kenya Vision 2030 Delivery Board.
Rita holds a bachelor’s degree in Education from Moi University – Kenya and a master’s degree in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Nairobi. She is also an executive coach certified by the Academy of Executive Coaches (AOEC) UK.
In 2017, she was awarded the Moran of the Order of the Burning Spear (MBS) for exemplary service to the Country as a business leader.