Equity Group Board has appointed Professor Isaac Macharia Equity Group Holdings Board Chairman taking over from David Ansell who did not offer himself for re-election at the 16th Equity Group Holdings Plc Annual General Meeting on June 30th , 2020. David Ansell has retired after serving the Board diligently for nine years.
Ansell is a long-time global banker. Prior to becoming Equity Group Holdings Board Chair, David served the Company on the subsidiary Boards of Equity Bank Tanzania, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Uganda and Rwanda where he also served as the Board Chairman. He is the second Chairman of Equity Group Holdings Board having taken over from the Founding Chairman Dr. Peter Munga.
The Board of Directors paid a glowing tribute to David Ansell noting that he had brought over 40 years of experience and leadership to the Board.
Dr. James Mwangi, Managing Director and CEO of Equity Group Holdings Plc paid tribute to David Ansell saying, “I have personally gained much insight from David’s leadership and especially from his immense knowledge and expertise in asset liability and risk management. David will always be a valued member of the Equity family.”
Evelyn Rutagwenda, the Chairperson of Equity Bank Rwanda described David as, “A professional banker who freely shared his expertise, knowledge and wealth of experience with the Board. He mentored many of us, and we shall truly miss his sense of humour.” At the same time, Ms Rutagwenda welcomed Professor Macharia and hailed him as, “A very committed and strong leader, and a good listener with exceptional emotional intelligence,” a view also held by Board Member, Adema Sangale, who described Prof Macharia as a very inclusive leader.
Dr. Julius Muia, past member of Equity Group Board and the current Principal Secretary at the National Treasury said, “I have had a long working relationship with David Ansell and he distinguished himself for his finesse in understanding banking with a bird’s eye view and a ground level view on strategic issues.”
Speaking when taking over as the Chairman of Equity Group, Professor Macharia said, “I thank David Ansell for his capable and adept leadership of the Board. During his tenure, the Board has been guided to support the Company and its goals to achieve excellence in both profitability and purpose and it has exceeded expectations.”
Professor Macharia thanked the Board for their confidence in his ability to lead the Group Board in their next phase of growth, and he thanked shareholders for having given him the opportunity to serve the Board of Equity Bank Kenya six years ago, out of which he has been Chairman for four years.