Uchumi Supermarkets has appointed Naivas Supermarkets retail business head, Willy Kimani King’ara as its new chief operating officer.
King’ara was in charge of business development, marketing and information and communications technology (ICT) over the last five years.
Prior to that he had spent six years at Tusky’s Supermarkets where he spearheaded its expansion and rebranding among other roles.
Board Chairperson, Khadija Mire, said the appointment of King’ara is part of the company’s effort to fast-track its turnaround process by improving governance and operational efficiency.
“Willy has an outstanding track record in leading business growth and repositioning in the retail sector in this country and brings on board essential leadership expertise that is key for the success of our turnaround strategy,” said Mire.
The chairperson said the Board was at an advanced stage of recruiting a new chief executive officer and would unveil the successful candidate over the next few weeks.
“We want to finalise the process as soon as possible so that the rest of the business re-organisation can continue in earnest,” said Ms. Mire.
The appointment of King’ara, an economics graduate from the University of Nairobi, is the first in a number of key positions including that of the CEO, chief finance officer and head of human resources, left vacant following recent management changes.
He is well versed in the shop-in-shop concept, in-store branding, supply chain management and customer loyalty management programmes all of which will be key to returning Uchumi to its past glory.
“I am very excited to be a part of such a big brand and cannot wait to get cracking. Uchumi has a great future and I am confident we can elevate it to international standards,” commented King’ara.
