Tom Mboya has bagged the prestigious CIO (Chief Information Officer) Of The Year Award after trumping his peers on November 19 at the Sarova Whitesands Beach Resort & Spa in Mombasa.
CIO Africa, the event organisers and leading technology publication in Africa, recognized the Unga Group PLC’s CIO for the top award out of a host of CIO considered and shortlisted.
Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) Director-General Ezra Chiloba, the Chief Guest, lauded the winners of the prestigious awards.
“I think it is great to pause and celebrate good leadership in this sector, given its contribution during the global pandemic,” Chiloba said.
He added, “It has become clear in the past two years that most organizations’ decisions on Covid-19 were driven by interventions and events that were happening at the global level. This is not uncommon for problems that are transboundary in character. And we are likely to see more and more of this. The question is, how will this context shape our leadership decisions?”
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The former IEBC CEO challenged organisations and their bosses to embrace IT to overcome challenges posed by the pandemic.
“On our part as the sector regulator, we were not spared by the Covid-19 challenges. If anything, the dramatic shift by the world towards maximising the use of IT during the pandemic, meant that we had to think outside the box to make the new ways of living possible. Our acknowledgement of the problem meant that we take unprecedented regulatory interventions. Not just to stabiles the sector, but to ensure that citizens continue to enjoy our services during the Covid-19 period.”
The nominees for Africa CIO Of The Year included last year's winner Jaine Mwai, the inaugural woman winner, Ramakrishna Potluri, Steven Obare, Francis Kamuyu, and Kenneth Ogwang.
“Each year, we have a team of judges from across Africa weighing the applications the CIOs share. We had a total of 450 applications. From this number, we whittle it down and shortlist the top candidates for the awards. With this being our 13th year, we are proud to say that we have had the support of the industry, and this is something we want to give back to the hardest working and least recognised members of any organisation - the tech team. Tom Mboya has worked exceptionally hard and deserves this recognition,” said CIO Africa Director Andrew Karanja.
Mboya, this year’s winner, expressed his elation at the win.
“It has been 25 years of hard work. I have gotten a lot of support. I know people who have previously won the Africa CIO100 Awards and I really respect them,” he said.
The Africa CIO Of The Year award is chosen by fellow CIOs who assess and deliberate on the most accomplished CIO of that year in a rigorous selection process.
The peer-to-peer recognition is what determines which CIO claims the title, Africa CIO Of The Year based on applied technologies that improve the bottom line, set the organization apart from their competitors, offer creative solutions, and save money.
Other big winners of the night were:
Manufacturing Sector Award – Dangote Projects Ltd., Nigeria
Banking Sector Award – Standard Chartered Bank of Kenya Ltd.
Insurance Sector Award – Zep-Re (PTA Reinsurance).
Health Sector Awards – M.P. Shah Hospital
Public Sector Award – National Social Security Fund (NSSF)
Education Sector Award – Moringa School
Local Government Sector Award – County Government of Mombasa
Hospitality Sector Award – Sarova Hotels & Resorts
SACCO Sector Award – Safaricom SACCO Ltd
Transport Sector Award – Kenya Airways Plc
GreenEdge Award – Uku’hamba Prosthetics & Orthotics (Pty) Ltd
Overall Company Winner – British America Tobacco (BAT)
CIO of the Year – Tom Mboya – UNGA Holdings Plc
Inhouse Solution Award – Unga Group Plc
Technology Partner Award – Safaricom PLC
Women in Tech Leadership Award – Grace Vihenda, Kenya Airways
