[2008-07-15]  Kenya Airways Names New CFO
National flag carrier, Kenya Airways, has a new finance director.
Alex Mbugua becomes the first Kenyan to hold the position after more than 10 years in the hands of foreigners.
He replaces Neil Canty whose contract ended mid last month.
Mr Mbugua is a corporate finance and investments banking professional, who has served in senior corporate positions.
Member of ICPAK
Up to his new assignment, he has been the chief finance officer for Anglo Gold Ashanti of South Africa since 2003.
Previously, Mr Mbugua served in board positions at AngloGold Holding in the United Kingdom, South Africa and other five African countries.
Titus Naikuni, the chief executive officer at Kenya Airways, said Mr Mbugua was picked after a rigorous search and selection process.
Mr Mbugua is a certified public accountant and a member of the Institute of Certified Public Accountant of Kenya (ICPAK) - a legal requirement for anyone hoping to serve as CFO.
Management changes
His predecessor, Mr Canty, had received a three-year exemption by the CMA to serve the airline without be being a member of the accountants' body.
Mr Mbugua has also worked for Combined Systems Group, PriceWaterhouseCoopers in Johannesburg, Bain Hogg Insurance Brokers, Express Kenya, International Air Transport Association (IATA) as a financial consultant and an audit consultant at KPMG Kenya. Kenya Airways has been going through management changes this year following the replacement of the former commercial director, Hugh Fraser by Richard Nuttal after the end of his contract and the appointment of a new chief operating officer, Mr Bram Steller

Source: ALLAFRICA