Former CIC Insurance Group CEO Nelson Kuria. FILE PHOTO | NMG CIC Insurance Group has tapped its former chief executive Nelson Kuria as the new chairman in the latest board changes to strengthen the overall governance and strategic direction of the insurer.
The group announced Friday morning that Mr Kuria, who retired from CIC as CEO in 2015, has replaced long-serving chairman James Magomere.
Mr Magomere had served as CIC chairman for 16 years. He joined the insurer in 1988 as a director.
“The board takes this opportunity to congratulate Dr Kuria on his election as the Chairman of the board of CIC Insurance Group Plc,” said the insurer.
Mr Kuria was in September last year appointed as an independent non-executive director of the CIC board, marking his return to the insurer.
He has served as a board member of many firms including Kenya Re , College of Insurance, Takaful Insurance of Africa, Kenyatta National Hospital, and the International Co-operative & Mutual Insurance.
He takes over from Mr Magomere who has overseen CIC growth from a small insurer to one of the leading insurers in Kenya and the region.
Mr Kuria, who has worked for 36 years in various private and public financial institutions, is expected to continue the transformation process that started last year.
CIC in June last year tapped Co-operative Bank group finance and strategy director Patrick Nyaga as the new CEO. In addition, new chief executives were also appointed to take charge of its subsidiary businesses — general insurance, life assurance, and asset management.
The underwriter also has subsidiaries in South Sudan, Uganda and Malawi.
The board also announced the retirement of Jyoti Patel and the appointment of Mr James Njue Njiru as vice chairman of the CIC board.The new appointments come at the time the insurance industry is recovering from the Covid-19 shocks that had slowed growth in premiums and sparked policy surrenders on the economic fallout.