By Silvia Nyambura
Regional carrier Rift Valley Railways (RVR) has appointed retiring Kenya Airways CEO Titus Naikuni as the new board chairman effective November 2014. This follows recent shareholder restructuring at the company. Naikuni joins the company at the midpoint of a turnaround program that began in January 2012 to revitalize the railway that had been ailing from years of neglect and underinvestment.
He brings with him extensive operational business leadership and policy formulation experience to the rail operator.
He joined Kenya Airways as group CEO in 2003 and spearheaded one of the most noteworthy and rapid expansions of an African airline, growing revenues threefold to over Ushs 105 billion (USD 1.2 billion) and doubling fleet and passenger numbers.
Prior to joining the national carrier Naikuni was group Managing Director of the Magadi Soda Company. In 1999 he was appointed permanent secretary in the Ministry of Information, Transport and Communication as part of a team of experts engaged by government to drive economic reform. His extensive boardroom experience spans the energy, mining, real estate, banking, film, manufacturing and ITC sectors.
Commenting on his appointment in a release seen by the CEO Magazine, Naikuni said, “RVR’s recent achievements together with the full funding of its investment and growth plan mean it is now uniquely positioned to become a high performing railway network that can spur trade and economic growth in the region. I am excited about this opportunity to work with the board and staff to build a robust and efficient rail transport solution which is the backbone of a thriving economy.