MICHAEL JOSEPH
Board Chairman, Olkaria Ecocloud
Michael Joseph is the current Chairman of the Boards of the Ethiopian Joint Venture, Chairman of Kenya Airways, Chairman of Pula Advisors Inc, and Director of Circle Gas. He was the founding CEO of Safaricom Limited, steering the company from a subscriber base of less than 18,000 in 2000 to over 17 million subscribers at his retirement in November 2010 making it the most successful company in East Africa. This growth straddling nearly a decade was notable for the launch of many innovative products and services which including being responsible for the creation and launch of the highly successful and phenomenal growth of M-Pesa and its related services. Michael also acted as CEO of Safaricom PLC from July 2019 to March 2020. He serves as the Chairman and joint Founder of M-Pesa Foundation Academy and a board member and past Chairman of the M-PESA Foundation.
He was a board Member at Safaricom PLC since its inception becoming its Chairman in 2020 until his retirement from the Board in August 2023.
Michael has extensive telecommunications experience starting his career in 1971 as an engineer and rising to leading many telecommunications companies both fixed and mobile and has worked in many countries including the USA, Europe and South America.Michael has been the recipient of many awards, including CEO of the year awarded by the Kenya Institute of Management, the Elder of the Order of the Burning Spear (awards given by the President of Kenya to those who have made a positive impact in Kenya). He has extensive international experience in company start-ups, the implementation and operation of large wireless and wire-line networks. He is also a keen conservationist and serves as Chairman of Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, a leading conservancy in Northern Kenya.Michael graduated from the University of Cape Town with a BSc cum laude in engineering.