Stanbic Bank, Uganda’s largest bank by deposits, lending, income, profitability and assets, last week announced it had refreshed its ‘Get It Done’ loan campaign launched in May 2022 with even bigger loan limits and a longer repayment period.
The bank announced that it would give up to UGX250 million per customer on unsecured lending with repayments of up to 84 months and at 0% arrangement fees, a move that Israel Arinaitwe, Acting Head, Consumer & High Networth, said was designed to give the bank’s customers breathing space, amidst the back-to-school period and a squeezed economic activity period.
What caught our interest is that Israel previously the Head, of Coverage- Consumer Clients has also been designated the Executive Head for Consumer & Affluent Banking role a senior and Exco role at the bank. Should he be confirmed for the role, Israel will replace Samuel Mwogeza, who has since quit the bank for a yet-to-be-disclosed Global CFO role.
But who is Israel Arinaitwe?
According to our research as well as peer and former supervisor peer reviews, Israel is described as a passionate, high-performing and strategic business leader and banker, as well as a thought leader.
With over 21 years of cumulative experience in retail and business banking, he is highly regarded in strategy development and execution; product development, people and teams management as well relationship management and overall leadership abilities. His knowledge cuts across retail, SME and high net worth segments.
Israel who now also doubles as the Head, of Coverage- Consumer Clients (his previous role) has spent all his 21 years of work life in banking, working for three of Uganda’s top 5 banks.
He broke his teeth at Stanbic as a Customer Service Consultant in Stanbic Bank Uganda in 2001 and had by 2004 risen to the level of Branch Manager, a role he played until 2006 when he joined then Barclays Bank (now Absa Bank Uganda) as Head Of Direct Sales (2005- 2007). Following a good job, he was reassigned to become the Head Of Workplace Banking at the same bank, between 2007- 2009.
Vivian Igundura, who was the then Executive Director and in charge of Retail Banking describes him as a motivational team leader and a hands-on analytical and strategic planner.
“Israel was our Head of Sales, leading a salesforce of over 1000 staff, selling products and solutions at the base of the pyramid, middle-income earners, SMEs and high net-worth clients. His passion and drive were unparalleled. I found him to be such a motivational and inspirational leader that drove and motivated his team to excel; each literary wanting to outdo the other,” Vivian recalls.
“Israel is very analytical and has great strategic planning abilities which came in handy when it came to elements like staff sales productivity and ways to improve them; developing suitable products for the different retail market segments. He is also a very collaborative leader and a great planner. All these helped the bank to drive customer satisfaction, retention, growth, client loyalty and bank profitability,” Vivian, who is now into consulting as a Country Director at 80Twenty Consulting International Ltd, further says.
A results-driven thought leader and a warm people-person
At Barclays, he rose to become the Head of Workplace Banking but in March 2009, he was head-hunted by Standard Chartered Bank Uganda for a Head of Lending role.
In March 2009 Israel left Barclays, for Standard Chartered Bank Uganda as the Head Of Lending. In June 2011, he was appointed General Manager, New Business And Personal Banking until September 2013 when he became the Head Small Business. Between 2015 -2016 Israel also served as the Head, Business Banking And Segments before being reassigned to become the Head, of Retail Banking, between 2017-2018.
Robert Kibaara, who at the time was the Regional Head for Personal Banking & New Business at Standard Chartered Bank, based in Nairobi and worked quite closely with Israel describes him as a “very driven person”.
“He works very well with teams. He just has this knack for working with teams— putting teams together and rallying them around the cause. During the time we worked together, he achieved a lot for Standard Chartered Bank,” recalls Robert, who has since grown to become the Group CEO, Housing Finance Group of Kenya.
“Israel is quite professional and very intelligent in terms of developing and driving business strategy. He is your strategy execution guy- he is very strong on execution. He has a bias for action. He pushes things hard to ensure business objectives are met. I can also say that he is basically a happy soul. You will rarely find him annoyed. He is just a happy person,” he concludes.
Yustus Aribariho, a banker, peer, friend and former colleague of Israel within the Standard Chartered Bank ecosystem, holds Israel in high regard, as “a thought leader, a good strategist and fantastic at execution.”
“His ability to think through a good strategy and work out a methodical plan to execute it is quite remarkable. Certainly, he’s now a veteran of the financial industry and hence has established himself as an authority on all matters in banking. He has a special interest in the consumer banking space as this is where you directly impact people’s lives which is one of his attributes,” Yustus, now the Global Head Digital Platforms at Standard Chartered Bank says.
“He is very result oriented and may appear tough as he demands good performance from his teams. However, he’s a good team builder and carries everyone along,” he says adding: “Outside work, he’s a great guy to hang out with. He is one hell of a fun character!”
After nearly 12 years at Standard Chartered Bank, he in October 2018, rejoined Stanbic Bank, this time as Head, of Personal Markets. In March 2021 he was reassigned as Head, Coverage- Consumer Clients, a role he has been playing before being tapped for the Ag. Executive Head for Consumer & Affluent Banking.
Israel holds a Master’s degree in Economic Policy and Planning and bachelor’s degree in Social Sciences [Economics/ Rural Economy] both from Makerere University amongst other qualifications.
He is also, an alumnus of the CEO Apprenticeship Forum, a premier Executive Coaching Programme Organized for Senior Executives deemed to be CEOs-in-waiting. He has also attended the Emerging Leaders Programme by Standard Chartered Bank- Africa— a Mentorship Programme for High Performing individuals sponsored by Africa SCB Manco.
Amongst other roles, Israel is a licensed Trustee of the Stanbic Bank Staff Pension Scheme.
Moses Rutahigwa, the current Head Consumer, Private & Business Banking (CPBB) at Standard Chartered Bank Uganda who worked with Israel for over 10 years, says the Israel he knows, is “a result-driven and a strong achiever, with an eye for talent, and who adapts to different environments and is a good connector.”
“He leads his teams to the desired results, through a back-to-basics approach to leadership. He ensures that his team focuses on the fundamentals of what has to be achieved and the path to getting there,” Moses says, adding: “He has shaped some of the best leaders in this market. He tries to ensure that people perform at the best of their potential and be the best version of themselves. He will provide a fair challenge for his people and recognises excellent achievements.”
He also describes him as an adaptive, agile and experienced leader.
“He is a strategic thinker and takes a critical balance between long-term goals and short-term actions to grow the business. Israel is keen to learn new things and will be vulnerable in seeking support from subject experts when he doesn’t know. He is also an avid reader, which complements his learning,” he says adding that he is as well as a “good connector with fellow leaders and with a robust network across the industry and geographies, which makes it easy for him to work with diverse teams and navigate different organisational structures.”
Michael K. Mugabi, Managing Director, Housing Finance Bank, who went through the inaugural CEO apprenticeship program with Israel describes him as a focused leader who always has his eyes on the big things.
“Before attending the CEO Apprentice Program with Israel, I had known him and have closely followed his career progress over the years. I have found him to be deeply intelligent, able to cut through a lot of ambiguities and come up with good business strategies,” Michael says.
“Indeed Banking has become a tough business and as we take it to the next level, people like Israel must be part of this journey as we seek to lift the livelihoods of our people and develop our country together,” he concludes.