Former Nairobi Deputy Governor Polycarp Igathe has been appointed as Equity Bank’s Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) five months after he resigned as Deputy Governor.
He cited that he could not work with Governor Mike Sonko because the governor could not trust him at all.
Equity group also named Christine Brown as the new company secretary, a position previously held by Mary Wamae who is set to become the new Executive Director in charge of Equity Bank’s subsidiaries in Rwanda, Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania and South Sudan.
Their appointments must be approved by the Central Bank of Kenya.
Once his appointment is approved by the Central Bank, Igathe will take charge of the institution’s product innovation and strategy.
Igathe campaigned alongside Sonko in the last general elections.
He was tasked with handling administrative functions in the county given his rich background in the corporate world while Sonko was expected to handle political matters of the county.
In his departure letter from Vivo Energy, he was enthusiastic in giving a shot at politics.
“I have taken a leap of faith; I have left a job in the private sector to come into the political arena because I represent all small, medium and big business interests who clearly know this city is 60 per cent of the GDP of our country. It can no longer be left in the hands of people who have no clue,” he said according to Business Daily.
However, a few months into the job, politics swayed in between him and the governor and he resigned in January said he has failed to earn Sonko’s trust making his job quite difficult.
Before joining politics, he was the Managing Director Vivo Energy a position he had held since February 2013. He had also worked at Haco Industries as the Managing Director and also served as a chair of the Kenya Association of Manufacturers, and Kenya Private Sector Alliance.