Chairperson
Appointed 13th October 2023.
Prof. Dr. Simon Gicharu (59 years old) is the Founder and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Mount Kenya University in Kenya, and Mount Kigali University in Rwanda. Both institutions are members of the Inter-University Council of East Africa. He is also the patron of Mount Kenya University Foundation, and founder of Cape Media Ltd., which owns ‘TV47’ and ‘Radio47’. In his educational career, Prof. Gicharu has achieved several milestones. In 2016, he was awarded an honorary Professorship by the International University of Management, Namibia, for his sterling entrepreneurship in education. In 2014, he received a Doctor of Philosophy Degree from Gulu University, Uganda. The same year, he was inducted into the World Entrepreneurs of the Year Hall of Fame in Monaco, France. He was the 2014 EY Eastern Africa Entrepreneur of the Year. In 2012, Prof Gicharu received the Chief of the Order of the Burning Spear (CBS), which is the highest commendation a civilian can receive from the President of the Republic of Kenya. He also won the Marketing Society of Kenya’s Superlative Trailblazer Award in the year 2011, while Kenyatta University, his Alma Mater, granted him the Outstanding Alumni Award during their Silver Jubilee celebrations in 2010. Prof Gicharu has previously served as the chairman of the Board at Water Services Regulatory Board, Geothermal Development Company, and Rural Electrification and Renewable Energy Corporation
