Before retreating to Zambia, Cornwell Muleya was a soft spoken executive with grand ambitions for Uganda Airlines after his appointment as an Acting Chief Executive Officer in 2019. He wasn’t a newcomer in the aviation industry having demonstrated similar experience working with airlines elsewhere across the continent.
He had survived Covid -19 which paralyzed air travel, but couldn’t survive the office politics and its attendant consequences at Uganda Airlines. He left Uganda at the tail end of 2022.
The Chemical Engineer and certified accountant is now at the lead of Zambia’s Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), the country’s investment holding company tasked with driving the country’s industrialisation agenda. Muleya was tapped in October last year as the new Chief Executive Officer.
IDC currently has a wide portfolio of 39 subsidiaries in 12 sectors including mining, aviation, manufacturing, agriculture, telecommunications, oil & gas, hotel, media, health care, among others.
The IDC board noted that Muleya “was the perfect fit” having over 34 years of financial and operational experience and business analysis, with demonstrated technical and leadership skills in various top management roles he has held.
Muleya started his career at Deloitte and Touché, later he moved to DHL, PriceWaterCoopers (Zambia and Kenya) where he was responsible for financial and audit assignments. He then joined Air Botswana, where he started as Financial Accountant and rose to the position of Director Finance and subsequently CEO of the Company.
Beyond the Balance Sheet: How Uganda's Top CFOs Are Forging Legacy Through Purpose, People, and Unwavering IntegrityIn the Aviation industry, Mr Muleya is described as a man focused on business solutions, capital raising, turn around strategies, re-organisation and restructuring, whilst rising to the position of CEO in Zambia, Botswana, Kenya and Uganda.
His recent position at Uganda saw Muleya successfully set up the new national airline as the consultant, and later appointed to be CEO to lead the launch of operation and implementation of the Business Plan.
The IDC Board noted in a statement that, “it is confident that Mr Muleya will aggressively and diligently drive the business and transformational agenda of the Industrial Development Corporation to yield impactful benefits to its Shareholders and to the people of Zambia.”
On LinkedIn, he describes himself as an, “experienced founder with a demonstrated history of working in the airlines/aviation industry. Skilled in Airline strategy, negotiation, business planning and presentation, operations management, Aeropolitical affairs, safety management systems, working with governments and general management.”
He is a Chartered Accountant, Chemical Engineer and Airline Executive who holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Chemical Engineering from Bath University, United Kingdom, and Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Certified Accountants (FCCA UK).
