How South African-born Kenyan businessman term as KQ chairman was prolonged

Michael Joseph, a South African-born Kenyan businessman, has been offered a third three-year term as chairman of Kenya Airways (KQ), extending his tenure as the group’s chairman to March 2025. This will bring his total tenure at the helm of the company to more than nine years.

KQ, a Sky Team Alliance member, is a leading African airline with flights to 42 destinations worldwide, 35 of which are in Africa. It carries more than 4 million passengers annually. Passenger transportation, cargo transportation, vacation management, ground handling, aeronautical maintenance, and aviation training are its primary businesses.

Joseph’s reelection by shareholders at the group’s 46th Annual General Meeting on Friday was followed by a resolution appointing him to the company’s board of directors alongside John Ngumi and Angus Clarke.

Joseph was appointed chairman in October 2016 and has since played a seminal role in the group’s operations, with its aircraft assets exceeding Ksh79 billion ($668 million).

In addition to his leadership roles at KQ, the leading business executive serves as a non-executive director on the boards of Vodacom Group South Africa, MFS Africa, and Safaricom Plc.

Under his leadership, KQ was named “Africa’s Leading Airline” by the World Travel Awards in 2020, as it continues to dominate the aviation scene with its modernized fleet, which includes 32 aircraft that are among the youngest in Africa.

KQ, which celebrated 45 years of operation in January 2022, takes pride in being at the forefront of connecting Africa to the world and the world to Africa through its hub at the new ultra-modern Terminal 1A at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi.

At the end of 2021, the aviation group reported a net loss of Ksh15.8 billion ($133.6 million) compared to Ksh36.2 billion ($306.1 million) the year before when it experienced major disruptions due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on its operating environment as travel restrictions hit its earnings power.