Stanbic Bank Kenya has named Michael Mutiga as its next Chief Executive Officer, effective 1 August 2026, subject to Central Bank of Kenya approval. Mutiga joins from Safaricom, where he served as Chief Business Development and Strategy Officer, and brings a career blend of investment banking and telecommunications strategy to the top role at one of the country's mid-tier lenders. His appointment ends a period of acting leadership at the bank.
Mutiga's background is that of a career banker who most recently spent time inside a leading corporate rather than a financial institution. He built up 15 years at Citibank, ending as Managing Director and Head of Corporate Finance for Sub-Saharan Africa in 2019, before moving into the telecoms sector. That combination gives him an unusual mix of banking depth and operational experience within one of the region's most closely watched listed companies.
CAREER SPANS INVESTMENT BANKING AND TELECOMS
His Citibank tenure gives Mutiga direct experience of the largest transactions and corporate relationships across Sub-Saharan Africa, spanning M&A advisory, financing and structured solutions. That background aligns closely with the corporate and investment banking activities that account for a significant share of Stanbic's earnings within the wider Standard Bank Group. It also positions him to engage credibly with the largest corporate clients from day one.
Prior to Citibank, Mutiga worked at Barclays and its successor Absa in East African investment banking, giving him a track record across two of the region's most active corporate franchises. Cumulatively, his profile is that of a banker deeply embedded in the East African market, with relationships and product experience that span successive generations of the region's transaction landscape.
His most recent experience at Safaricom, in a role focused on business development and strategy at the region's most valuable listed company, provides a corporate-side perspective on the digital economy that has become central to banks' growth strategies. That vantage point is likely to shape Stanbic's approach to digital financial services in the years ahead, as banks and telecoms companies continue to converge in areas such as payments and mobile money.
TRANSITION FROM ACTING LEADERSHIP
Mutiga replaces Abraham Ongenge, who has led the bank in an acting capacity since March 2026. Ongenge returns to his substantive role as Head of Personal and Private Banking, providing continuity for the retail franchise as the group transitions to its new chief executive. The arrangement gives Stanbic a clean handover from the acting leadership period to the incoming CEO.
Acting leadership stints of this length are relatively common in Kenyan banking, where regulatory processes around CEO appointments require Central Bank of Kenya approval before a permanent appointment can take effect. Mutiga's formal start on 1 August is contingent on that approval. The process gives regulators time to review the fit and proper credentials of incoming senior leaders in the banking sector.
For Stanbic Bank Kenya, the appointment brings a permanent leader with a distinctive mix of corporate finance, banking and corporate-strategy experience to a market in which competition among the top-tier and second-tier banks continues to intensify. Mutiga's mandate, once he steps into the role, will be to drive the next phase of growth while working within the wider Standard Bank Group's Africa strategy, with the CBK approval representing the final regulatory step before the transition takes effect.