Titus Naikuni to leave KQ a month earlier than scheduled

Kenya Airways Chief Executive Officer Titus Naikuni is set to leave the airline at the end of next month, one month earlier than he was scheduled to retire.

A statement from the airline’s management said Mr Naikuni has opted to retire earlier than it had been previously communicated, paving the way for his replacement by current Chief Operating Officer Mbuvi Ngunze.

“I am pleased to announce that the board has accepted the resignation of Mr Titus Naikuni as chief executive officer with effect from October 31,” Kenya Airways Chairman Evanson Mwaniki said through a statement, without giving reasons.

REPLACEMENT

Mr Naikuni was set to retire last year after 10 years at the helm of the airline, but extended his term by one year to give the board time to search for his replacement.

Kenya Airways recruited Mr Ngunze in September 2011 as chief operating officer (COO). He had held a number of senior executive positions in subsidiaries of French multinational Lafarge.

He holds a bachelor of commerce degree, accounting option, from the University of Nairobi and is a chartered accountant (England and Wales).

The announcement means that Mr Ngunze will have to face the challenge of seeing through the airline’s ambitious expansion plan, initiated under Naikuni’s leadership, albeit earlier than expected.

The expansion is aimed at growing the national carrier's profit in a competitive market where rivals have also become more aggressive.