Kellen Eileen Kariuki is an

accountant An accountant is a practitioner of accounting or accountancy. Accountants who have demonstrated competency through their professional associations' certification exams are certified to use titles such as Chartered Accountant, Chartered Certifi ...

, businesswoman and corporate executive in Kenya. Since January 2015, she is the executive director and

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

of th
Unclaimed Financial Assets Authority
(UFAA), an agency of the central government of Kenya. The government agency, created by Act of parliament in 2011, collects unclaimed funds in the financial system, including un-cashed checks, unclaimed insurance proceeds, cash in dormant bank accounts and money in similar situations in financial institutions. The UFAA then attempts to re-unite the funds with their rightful owners or heirs, upon proper identification. In the meantime, the UFAA invests the money on behalf of the owners, to keep up with inflation.

Background and education

Kellen was born in Kenya and attended local schools for her pre-university education. Her

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

(BSc) degree in

Accounting Accounting, also known as accountancy, is the measurement, processing, and communication of financial and non financial information about economic entities such as businesses and corporations. Accounting, which has been called the "languag ...

was obtained from the

United States International University United States International University (USIU) was a nonprofit university based in San Diego, California that was accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. At its peak, it had two additional American campuses and three interna ...

(USIU), in

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper ha ...

. She went on to obtain a

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

(MBA) in

Strategic Management In the field of management, strategic management involves the formulation and implementation of the major goals and initiatives taken by an organization's managers on behalf of stakeholders, based on consideration of Resource management, resour ...

, also from USIU. Later she obtained the

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

degree in International Human Resource Management, from

Cranfield University , mottoeng = After clouds light , established = 1946 - College of Aeronautics 1969 - Cranfield Institute of Technology (gained university status by royal charter) 1993 - Cranfield University (adopted current name) , type = Public research uni ...

in the United Kingdom. She 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 ...

(CPA).

Career

For a period of about 20 years, dating back to before 1995, Kellen Kariuki was employed by

Citibank Citibank, N. A. (N. A. stands for " National Association") is the primary U.S. banking subsidiary of financial services multinational Citigroup. Citibank was founded in 1812 as the City Bank of New York, and later became First National City ...

, at its Nairobi office. She served in senior management roles including as

chief financial officer The chief financial officer (CFO) is an officer of a company or organization that is assigned the primary responsibility for managing the company's finances, including financial planning, management of financial risks, record-keeping, and financ ...

and as

chief human resource officer A chief human resources officer (CHRO) or chief people officer (CPO) is a corporate officer who oversees all aspects of human resource management and industrial relations policies, practices and operations for an organization. Similar job titles in ...

. Over the years, she has held or she still holds several

board Board or Boards may refer to: Flat surface * Lumber, or other rigid material, milled or sawn flat ** Plank (wood) ** Cutting board ** Sounding board, of a musical instrument * Cardboard (paper product) * Paperboard * Fiberboard ** Hardboard, a ty ...

appointments, as (1) Chairperson of Citibank Tanzania Limited (2) Director Citibank Uganda Limited (3) Chair of the Citibank Kenya Provident Fund (4) Director of Cititrust Kenya Limited (5) Director Kenya Roads Board (KRB) (6) Director Resolution Insurance Limited (7) Director AMREF International (8) Director AMREF Flying Doctors and (9) Board Chairperson Standard Chartered Bank, Kenya. She is also a member of faculty at

Strathmore Business School 'Strathmore University Business School (SBS)'' is the Business School of Strathmore University. Based in Nairobi, Kenya, it offers Doctoral, Masters and Undergraduate programmes, as well as executive education programmes. It was started in 2005 t ...

. In the past, she served as member of the governing council of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Kenya. As of January 2016, the agency that she headed had approximately KES:6 billion (about US$60 million) under management.

References

External links

Website of the Unclaimed Financial Assets Authority

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kariuki, Kellen Living people 1960s births Kikuyu people Businesspeople from Nairobi United States International University alumni Alumni of Cranfield University 21st-century Kenyan businesswomen 21st-century Kenyan businesspeople Kenyan business executives Academic staff of Strathmore University Kenyan accountants Kenyan women accountants

Background and education

Career

See also

References

External links