Lawyer Paul Murithi Muthaura, the former head of Capital Markets Authority (CMA) has been appoointed Corporate chief operating officer (COO) of ICEA Lion Insurance.
The insurer said on Friday Mr Muthaura will start serving in the newly created position on May 1, with the board saying the position was created in order to strengthen the leadership structure.
Mr Muthaura, who left CMA on December last year, will be reporting directly to the CEO of ICEA. He has more than 18 years of experience as corporate leader in the financial and legal sectors.
ICEA Lion General Company CEO Steve Oluoch said Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA) has already cleared Mr Muthaura for the new role.
“With his track record as a champion for fintech adoption, his very broad exposure, rich career and diverse leadership experience, Paul will be of great benefit to the company and indeed to the ICEA Lion Group,” said Mr Oluoch.
The appointment marks his first full return to the private sector since 2005.
Reservations
Some Kenyans have called into question the appointment stating that there’s conflict of interest.
“Paul Muthaura was CEO of Capital Markets Authority & James Ndegwa was & still Chairman. Ndegwa is also the owner & Chairman of ICEA LION. Now, Muthaura has left CMA & joined ICEA LION as COO. Ndegwa is Chairman of both. How will CMA regulate Ndegwa companies including ICEA LION?”, activist Abraham Mohammed Mutai asked.
Credentials
Mr Muthaura who spent 14 years at CMA holds a master’s in Law (Banking and Finance) and a master’s in philosophy.
Mr Muthaura is a member of Chartered Insurance Institute UK and served as board member of IRA and Retirement Benefits Authority.
He now joins the insurance industry that is battling fraud, price undercutting and high claims ratio.
ICEA Lion General Insurance made an underwriting profit of Sh283.4 million last year despite classes such as medical, personal accident and motor private posting losses.
Kenyan Business Feed is the top Kenyan Business Blog. We share news from Kenya and across the region. To contact us with any alert, please email us to [email protected]