Board of Directors
Daniel Ndonye - Chairman of the Board
Daniel Ndonye brings to the board vast experience from his tenures having worked with Deloitte East Africa for 20 years, ten of which he served as the Managing/Senior Partner until his retirement in May 2010. During this period he devoted almost all his time to serving clients especially in audit. He is an alumnus of the Alliance High School and University of Nairobi. He is also a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.
Daniel has held various positions including: Chair of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Kenya (ICPAK); the Chair of the Board of Trustees, Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS); Director, Agricultural Finance Corporation (AFC); Chair, Disclosure & Standards Committee of the Capital Markets Authority (CMA); Chair, Registration of Accountants Board; Chair, Syllabuses and Implementation Sub-Committee of the Kenya Accountants and Secretaries National Examination Board (KASNEB) as well as a Member of the Examinations Committee of KASNEB; Chief Examiner (Final) Part III Certified Public Accountants (CPA).
Jonathan Somen - Co-Founder and Managing Director
Jonathan graduated with a degree in Economics and Accounting from Bristol University. He commenced his career in Kenya where he joined Kilimanjaro Mineral Water Ltd as Chief Operating Officer. He later joined the Telecommunications Sector where he worked for a number of companies including Primus Telecommunications Inc. In 1995 he started up Communications Solutions Ltd (Commsol) and thereafter in the year 2000, launched AccessKenya. He has been responsible for the strategic growth, direction and of the company since its inception.
Titus Naikuni - Director
Titus is Kenya Airways' Group Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer. He holds a Bachelor of Science Degree (Honours) in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Nairobi. He is also a graduate of Harvard Business School's Management Development Programme (PMD71) and was awarded a Doctor of Science in Engineering from the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology - an honorary award in recognition to his contribution in development. He joined the Magadi Soda Company in 1979 as a trainee engineer and rose to the positions of Managing Director of that company in 1995 and Managing Director of the Magadi Railway Company (a subsidiary of Magadi Soda Company) in 1996. He is currently a board member of Maersk Kenya Ltd, AccessKenya Group Ltd, CFC Bank Kenya Ltd, Deputy Chairman of Magadi Soda Company Ltd and a member of the Unilever Africa Advisory Council.
Paras Shah - Director
Paras is a Partner in the Corporate, Commercial and Conveyancing Department at Hamilton, Harrison and Mathews. He has an LL.B. from King's College, London. He is a member of the Law Society of England & Wales; the Law Society of Kenya; a Certified Public Secretary as well as an Associate Member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.
He specialises in Corporate, Commercial and Conveyancing law and has advised on a number of local, multi-national and cross border transactions, including privatisations and financings as well as mergers and acquisitions. Paras has also advised on capital markets work, including IPOs and Take Over Regulations. He is recognised as one of the leading commercial lawyers in Kenya by Legal 500, IFLR 1000 and Chambers Global.
David Somen - Co-Founder and Director
With a Law Degree from Oxford University followed by an MBA from Harvard Business School and several years work experience in London and Hong Kong for McKinsey & Co.. He was the Chief Executive Officer of the LCR Telecom Group. David subsequently became Managing Director of PRIMUS Europe. He is currently the Managing Director of Virtual IT, an IT services business in the UK and divides his time between Virtual IT and AccessKenya. David is responsible for working with Jonathan on the strategic direction of the company.
Michael Turner - Non-Executive Director
Michael is Partner at Actis, the leading private equity firm in Kenya. He is responsible for the Actis Africa Agribusiness Fund as well as Actis' activities in East Africa. Prior to joining Actis, Michael spent three years in investment banking in London, for Lehman Brothers and Kleinwort Benson, having started his career with Price Waterhouse. He has a first class degree in civil engineering and is also a qualified Chartered Accountant, and sits on the boards of various companies including Grain Bulk Handlers Ltd.