Diamond Trust gets new chairman

Diamond Trust Bank has announced changes in its boardroom with the group chairman, Mr Mahmood Manji, set to retire during the bank’s annual general meeting on May 27.

Mr Abdul Samji, a long-serving member of the board, will succeed him.

Mr Manji retires to pursue new opportunities in the aviation sector.

“During his tenure as chairman, the DTB group has undergone significant growth and rapid expansion in Eastern Africa, both in terms of market share as well as branch network,” the bank said in a statement.

Mr Samji is an accountant and a member of the London-based Association of Chartered Certified Accountants and Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Kenya.

Currently, he is a director of the Kenya Tourist Board.

The former managing partner of audit firm, PKF Kenya, is also a trustee of several charitable and service organisations.

Mr Manji served for 14 years, nine of them as the bank’s chief executive.

He was appointed deputy chairman in 2004 and elected group chairman in 2005.

He is credited with converting Diamond Trust Banks in Kenya from a community-based finance company to fully-fledged commercial bank with a presence in Uganda, Tanzania and Burundi.

DTB plans to further its regional expansion over the next three years to Mozambique, DRC, Rwanda and Madagascar, by doubling its current branch network of 55.

The bank reported a pretax profit of Sh1.9 billion for the year ending December 31 2009, up from Sh1.6 billion the previous year.