Felix Okoboi, the new wunderkind in Uganda’s corporate corridors of power He may not yet be a Martin Aliker, James Mulwana and Elly Karuhanga who dominated Uganda’s board rooms in the 2000s through to the 2020s, and had ‘keys’ to most doors of power in government and the private sector but the meritocratic rise of Felix Okoboi is unmissable. The engineer/architect who turned into a Wharton-trained corporate finance guru, has over the last three years, gained ground in boardrooms of some of the region’s finest companies; a telltale sign of where his corporate star may be headed.

Last week, East African Breweries Limited (EABL), the region’s leading branded alcohol beverage business and a subsidiary of Diageo, the global alcohol giant announced that it had appointed Felix Okoboi as an Independent Non-Executive Director. The appointment took effect on 30th May 2023. Although the announcement didn’t say, Felix is more or less, a replacement for Japheth Katto, who retired from the Board in February 2023, after 9 years of service. Felix joins Jimmy Mugerwa, another Ugandan Independent Non-Executive Director on the board.  Uganda is the second biggest unit of EABL, contributing about 20% of the business,  after Kenya which…