From knitting sweaters to chief executive

By Morris Aron

Virginia Magondu, the chief executive of Kenya Orient Insurance Limited is humble by every definition of the word.

The soft-spoken single mother of two is plain in her dressing, and down to earth in her manner of speech.

Her corner office at the sixth floor of Capital Hill Towers bears testimony to that fact: no flashy wardrobes, neither are there colourful big screen television sets and trophies that characterise most chief executives’ offices.

"I have been in the insurance industry for the last 22 years, almost your age…If my guess is correct," she says smiling.

"That has given me a good experience, but I have come from far."

Several years back, as a student at Kahuhia Girls in Central Province, she would spend her time knitting sweaters, baby shawls and socks, among other items, to sell at her auntie’s shop in Karatina town.

She would make close to Sh150, a tidy sum in those days — during the holidays. Her bus fare to school was a couple of shillings and the school fees just above Sh600.

"I still like knitting. So it came as a delight to earn money from a hobby," said Ms Magondu.

When she joined the University of Nairobi, she had no inkling on what to specialise in. All she knew was lots of opportunities and the ‘boom’ from the Higher Education Loans Board. "Boom"now called "Chacha" was a term used to refer to university student loans from the Government.

Advice

That is when she sought the help of her brothers who had already been through university.

"They advised me to enrol for a Bachelor of Commerce degree (she graduated in 1987) instead of doing biology and languages," she says.

"Yet, I was pretty sure I did not want to be an auditor, as I knew their lives. This left me with marketing or insurance options. I chose the latter as all students who graduated ended up with jobs soon after or even before graduation."

In University, she shared classes with Linus Gitahi, the Chief Executive of Nation Media Group and James Mwangi, the the Equity Bank CEO among others.

Day scholar

For the first year, she was a day scholar, because she had a child to take care of, a fact that limited her options to savour in the then lavish campus lifestyle.

But Magondu is thankful her life took the turn it at the time.

"Because of my early responsibilities I received the discipline that served me well for the current role,"

"I missed all that comes with campus life, and if I were to go back now, I would be engaged in such activities for experience’s sake," she says wishfully.

So, how did she find her way up?

Upon graduation, she got a job with Concord Insurance as an officer, and later Madison Insurance as Supervisor before moving to Kenya Orient Insurance Limited as a general manager and finally as the chief executive.

Early reporting

Her typical day starts at 4.30 am, arriving in office by seven. She is often the one who opens the office doors, then it is the routine business of signing cheques, following up on claims and meetings.

On occasion, she finds time to mentor other workers.

As a devout Christian, on a bad day, once in her house, Magondu turns up the volume on her stereo and listens to gospel music in her bedroom. She is an elder at PCEA Nairobi West.

For her, there is a clear line between work and friendship, and the latter need not necessarily be destroyed as a result of disagreements due to the former.

Magondu says women are under represented in key areas of the economy while they are the ones who carry most of the burden of the society.

"For me, my idea of changing Kenya is simple, empower the women and see the difference in society."

Insurance sector

She foresees a bright future for the insurance industry despite a number of them going under in the last couple of years.

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