Uganda’s central bank, Bank of Uganda has approved the appointment of Robin Bairstow as Chief Executive Officer of I&M Bank Uganda.
Robin was appointed by the I&M Group Plc as CEO in September 2023, pending regulatory approval, to lead the bank’s quest to become Uganda’s “leading financial partner for growth”.
He is a very familiar face to the I&M Group and the East African region, having served as the CEO of I&M Bank Rwanda for the last 8 years prior to his Uganda assignment.
During his tenure at I&M Bank Rwanda, the bank trebled its total assets to RWF 491.3 billion and pre-tax profits rose to RWF13.4 billion to retain its position as one of the leading banks in Rwanda.
Robin also oversaw I&M Bank Rwanda’s listing on the Rwanda Stock Exchange in 2017.
He is an experienced corporate banker, with a successful track record of over 30 years in the financial services sector with both domestic and international banking organisations. Prior to joining the I&M Group, he held senior positions at Standard Chartered Bank, Citibank NA, BOE Bank and Nedbank across Central Africa, East Africa, and South-East Asia.
Robin is a graduate of the South African Merchant Naval Academy and holds a CIBM (SA) and a Diploma in Business Administration from the University of Leicester.
Bairstow takes over the Chief Executive Officer role following the exit of Kumaran Pather in December 2022.
Sam Ntulume, who has been serving in an acting capacity since December 2022, will now continue in his role as Executive Director and Chief Operations Officer.