James Mworia Mwirigi is a Kenyan lawyer, accountant, and business executive. He is the managing director and chief executive officer of

Centum Investment Company Centum Investment Company Plc, commonly known as Centum is a public East African investment company. It operates as an affiliate of the Kenyan government-owned Industrial and Commercial Development Corporation (ICDC). Overview Centum is a pu ...

, the largest publicly traded private capital firm in

Eastern Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa: Due to the historical ...

. He has served in that capacity since 2008. Mworia was cited as one of the Top 100 most influential Africans by

New African ''New African'' is an English-language monthly news magazine based in London. Published since 1966, it is read by many people across the African continent and the African diaspora. It claims to be the oldest pan-African monthly in English, as well ...

magazine in 2017.

Background and education

Mworia was born in 1978. He attended Alliance High School,

Strathmore University Strathmore University is a chartered university based in Nairobi, Kenya. ...

, and the

University of Nairobi , mottoeng = In unity and work , image = Uon emblem.gif , image_size = 210px , caption = Coat of Arms of the University , type = Public , endowment ...

. He has a

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

from University of Nairobi. He is also a

certified public accountant Certified Public Accountant (CPA) is the title of qualified accountants in numerous countries in the English-speaking world. It is generally equivalent to the title of chartered accountant in other English-speaking countries. In the United Sta ...

and a

chartered financial analyst The Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) program is a postgraduate professional certification offered internationally by the American-based CFA Institute (formerly the Association for Investment Management and Research, or AIMR) to investment and fina ...

. In 2016, Machakos University awarded him an honorary doctorate degree.

Work history

In 2001, Mworia began working as a filing clerk at Centum Investment Company. Despite having a law degree and several other financial and accounting diplomas and certificates, he accepted this entry-level position. He gradually rose through the ranks, and in 2005 he was appointed chief investment officer at Centum Investments. He served in that position until December 2006, when he joined

TransCentury Investments TransCentury Limited is an infrastructure company whose stock is "listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) with three divisions across 14 countries in East, Central and Southern Africa". Location The company's headquarters are located in ...

as its head of investments. In 2008, at age 30, he was appointed chief executive officer (CEO) and managing director at Centum. During his first six years as CEO, Centum increased its asset base from KES:6 billion (US$69 million) to approximately KES:30 billion (US$350 million).

Other responsibilities

He serves as the chairman of the board of directors at

Sidian Bank 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. Location The headquarters of Sidian Bank are located at K-Rep Centre, on Wood Avenue, in Kilimani ...

. He also serves as a board member at the

Nairobi Stock Exchange The Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) was established in 1954 as the Nairobi Stock Exchange, based in Nairobi the capital of Kenya. It was a voluntary association of stockbrokers in the European community registered under the Societies Act in ...

(NSE), effective June 2015. In June 2018, he is expected to leave the board of the NSE, having served his three year term, and having declined to offer himself for re-election. In September 2016, he was named the highest paid executive among the five largest corporations in Kenya, with an annual compensation package valued at KES:201.1 million (approx. US$2 million) annually. In October 2016, he was appointed Chancellor of Machakos University, a public university in

Machakos County Machakos County is one of the 47 counties of Kenya, which came into being because of the devolved system of governance occasioned by the 2010 constitution of Kenya. The country's first administrative headquarters are in Machakos Town, which is ...

, Kenya. He also sits on the board of Lewa Wildlife Conservancy and Isuzu Motors Limted.

Personal life

According to a 2011 published report, James Mworia is married.

References

External links