By Linnet Muchoki
The soft-spoken lady is the first female Chief Executive Officer of the Kenya Electricity Generating Company PLC (KenGen). Such an achievement by itself, in a highly ‘mele’ Kenya world, talks a lot about what kind of a person she is. Her name is Rebecca Miano.
In September 2022, President William Ruto appointed to serve in the fifth cabinet as the Cabinet Secretary for the East African Community, Arid and Semi-Arid Lands.
A curious combination for the ministry – where EAC affairs are crucial, and at the same time Kenya is suffering drought and great unproductivity in arid and semi-arid lands, it means she is expected to be one of the most critical pillars in the new government.
Miano was born in 1966. Though much is not revealed about her origins, she once stated she comes from a polygamous family. Her father had two wives and 14 children. She is married to an environmentalist, and they have three grown-up children.
Raised in Nyahururu, she initially planned to be a journalist before choosing to be a lawyer. Hon Miano, completed her primary education at Eldama Ravine Primary boarding school and her secondary school at Kapropita Girls High School in Baringo County. She later joined law school at the University of Nairobi.
She had the option to go to Kenya Mass Communication College for journalism. Still, she opted for law as her role models are Prof Margaret Kobia, CS for Public Service and Gender and Kristalina Georgieva, IMF Managing Director.
Hon Miano attended the Advocates Training Programme at the Kenya School of Law and has a Master of Laws in Comparative Law, awarded by the Australian National University. During her spare time, she loves knitting. After all, it is therapeutic and gardening because it draws her closer to nature. Her love for theatre plays also unbreakable. Before covid 19 she used to watch new plays at the French Cultural Centre or Kenya National Theatre.
Rebecca Miano first worked at a Nairobi-based law firm, “Musyoka Annan & Company Advocates”. Later, she worked at “Slater and Gordon”, a law firm in Queensland, Australia. She later joined Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen) as a legal officer.
Through hard work and sheer determination, she rose through high ranks, becoming an assistant company secretary. From 2008 to 2017 she was the Director of Legal Affairs and Company Secretary at KenGen.
In 2010, she was awarded Kenya’s highest civilian honour, the Order of the Grand Warrior, to acknowledge her extensive corpus of labour. In the same year, she completed the Advanced Management Programme at Strathmore University From 25th august 2015, she has been acting as the managing director. In August 2017, she was promoted to acting managing director, and in November, she won the seat to be managing director against 90 other applicants. She took over from Mr Albert Mugo, who had reached the mandatory age requirement.
She became the first female Chief executive at KenGen and was one of two women in Kenya who led a parastatal company. The only other woman was MaryJane Mwangi, the CEO of the National Oil Corporation of Kenya. She is also a registered Certified Public Secretary of Kenya. She is a member of the Institute of Certified Public Secretaries of Kenya (ICPSK) and the Law Society of Kenya (LSK).
In July 2020, she was appointed to the World Bank Group’s Advisory Council on Gender Development to serve for two years. In August 2020, Hon Rebecca’s exemplary leadership and outstanding corporate governance were awarded in The African Business Leadership Awards by African Leadership Magazine she won under the African Inspirational Business Leadership Award Category.
In October 2021, she was named among the top women CEOs leading business in Africa in a pool of top 50 women comprising Chief Executives, Division Heads and Regional Managers. They run over 1,400 companies sampled by Africa.com for the Definitive List of Women CEOs in Africa 2021.
in April 2022, Hon Mrs Miano was appointed by the Ministry of Energy to lead the Commonwealth Action Group on Geothermal in Kenya under the Commonwealth Action Group on geothermal under the Commonwealth Sustainable Energy Transition Agenda. On 31st August 2022, Hon Rebecca Miano was appointed as the new Vice Chair of the Global Compact Network Kenya for a three-year term, Where she has been a Board Member since November 2019.
She has a message to girls and fresh female graduates: “Be hardworking. Be good at what you do. Be patient, resilient and open to immeasurable possibilities.”
*Linnet Muchoki loves to chronicle Africa’s women leaders as change agents. Email: Linnet.muchoki@gmail.com